


Hand Beneath His Boot

by orphan_account



Series: Odd Couple [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Child Abuse, Class Differences, Drug Dealing, Drug Use, Dubious Consent, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Minor Character Death, Mpreg, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-05
Updated: 2013-07-24
Packaged: 2017-12-10 12:30:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 31,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/786069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tobin Lewis has done crazy, terrible, illegal things to support his little brother when his drug-addled mother falls short.  Surly, violent and defensive, he's hurt others and himself.  He's only a good Omega when people pay him to be and his body's been on sale since he was 16.  </p>
<p>How much more will he have to give when the worst happens and he's faced with a desperate gamble or losing his little brother forever?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One: Mr. Drug Dealer

**Author's Note:**

> So, to combat a little writer's block with my other work, "Altera", I somehow ended up writing this monstrosity (and it's not even finished yet). The Title is a reference to Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and it was written to an excess of Plan B's "Ill Manors" album.
> 
> I've really enjoyed writing this one!

HAND BENEATH HIS BOOT

CHAPTER ONE

The club that night had been hot and frantic, the lights uncomfortably bright in Tobin’s eyes.  Their garish brightness had stabbed down into his eyes like little neon razors as he’d fought his way back through throngs of sweaty bodies to drop off his latest payment from the dealers who ran the South Side.  The police had been cracking down hard lately, so they had a surplus of gear that they just couldn’t shift.  That meant they needed to buy less from the main supplier working out of Central.  It also meant an uncomfortably tense meeting with said supplier who also happened to be the head of one of the largest trafficking outfits in the entire city.  Tobin had sweated uncomfortably through it (the tiny office they were sequestered in was stifling), making his way out as fast as he could when he was dismissed.

He was only just now leaving through a back exit, the summer night making it too warm for a jacket.  He just walked out in a black wife-beater and a pair of blue jeans, his combat boots clunking on the ground as he walked.  He drew his shoulders up defensively, slouching in a way that was both off-putting and mildly menacing.

Tobin was a strange looking man not altogether unattractive, but cobbled together of so many peculiar parts that most never knew what to make of him.  He was average height, sure, but the toned muscle he had gave him the air of a man larger than he actually was.  The boy kept his blonde hair shaved up on the sides of his head, but long enough on top that it had to be slicked back.  His face had the air of the infinitely unintelligent, light blue eyes perpetually at half-mast and unusually plush lips pulled down in a not-quite frown.  At the best of times he looked half-awake and at the worst he could seem downright vacant.  He was a confusing mix of street-thug and Botticelli that most people couldn’t figure out what to do with.

The boy lit a cigarette as he walked away from the club, looking down as he cupped the flame to keep it going.  He didn’t see the group of raucous men standing on the curb until they called out to him.

“Toby! Hey Toby, get over here!” A big one yelled at him.

The boy turned almost automatically when bidden and walked over, feeling the big man’s hand clap down on his shoulder and reel him in.

“Toby-boy, you’re smelling a little ripe.  You got a heat coming?” he leered.

Tobin was very quiet, but in a contemplative way, “…Guess so.”

“How much you charging for this one?” the big man asked eagerly.

“More than you can afford,” the other said, shaking his head slowly like a dumb beast of burden.

“Oh, don’t be like that.  I can smell it.  It’ll be here soon, won’t it? I bet you don’t even have a buyer yet.”

“No.  You know my opening bid.  It isn’t going to change.”

The big man wheedled undeterred, “Oh c’mon, Toby! You never used to charge this much for a heat.  What? You too good for us now that you’re rollin’ with the big guys at the top of the pile?”

He leaned in to try and take a sniff of Tobin’s neck, only to find the boy’s hand wrapped in the hair of the back of his thick head.  He threw him back a few feet, the dullness in Tobin’s eyes replaced with a low smoulder of grim aggression.  The rest of the men who had been there with big guy (both Betas) just looked too drunk and nervous to do more than shuffle when their friend was shoved into them. 

“Your cock isn’t a charity case and my ass isn’t a charity.  You pay the rate I offer or I go somewhere else,” the boy asserted, fists bunching like he wanted a fight.

The big man, an Alpha, just spat at his feet, “I remember when they used to keep YOUR kind locked up in the house until they learned manners.  Fuck off.”

For a minute, Tobin was silent and still while the Alpha preened in front of his friends.  Then, radiating absolute menace, he jerked forward with a fist raised as if he were going to strike the other man right in the nose.  All three of them flinched in surprise and Tobin nodded in satisfaction.  He crammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, point made, and brushed past them to start heading home.  He fingered the lint in his pockets tensely as he walked.

The walk home to his shitty, falling-down apartment was uneventful and soon his key was sliding into the lock.  When he got inside, he reached down almost out of instinct and snagged an empty beer can lying on the floor just to the right of the door he’d come through before turning around and locking it back behind him.  He surveyed the room, from the ugly brown carpet going threadbare in places and covered with stains to the pocked and pitted wall which had been in dire need of a paint job at least a decade ago.  The walls had gone slightly yellow from nicotine, ghostly shadows chasing up them from the flickering of the ancient television that sat on a milk-crate against one wall.  It illuminated a lump of woman laying passed out on a raggedy couch and a young boy asleep near her feet.

Sighing, Tobin walked over and hefted the little boy up in his arms, tutting, “You got a perfectly good bed in our room, troublemaker.  Wouldn’t hurt you to sleep in it every once in awhile.”

The child he had in his arms was a skinny little thing with rosebud lips and slightly too-long brown hair tousled down over his brow.  He was dead to the world, breathing in and out with wispy little exhales.  He didn’t even stir as Tobin hauled him back to a room with two small beds shoved in it against either wall and flopped him down on the one nearest the window.  The older boy knelt and at least took his shoes off before shuffling the little brunette under his blankets.  The little boy just mumbled and buried his face into his pillow while Tobin folded his arms on the mattress, resting his chin atop them.

“You know,” he whispered, “Just cause mom’s destroying herself doesn’t mean you gotta do it too.  What am I gonna do with you?”

Tobin watched the kid for another minute or two before going to the other little bed in the room and throwing himself down on it.  He hoped the other boy had at least gotten dinner tonight…though from the state of the woman on the couch he figured he probably hadn’t.  Oh well.  He’d at least try and get a good breakfast into the kid before he sent him off to school in the morning. 

There were other problems, though.

The big man at the club (a former customer) had been right.  He could feel it now.  There was a heat on its way and he hadn’t had anyone lay down bids on this one.  He needed a buyer and fast so he could still earn money even while he was incapacitated with hormones, lust and the retarded biological imperative that thought it needed to mate at least once every season.  He’d been whoring himself out during his heats ever since the first one had nearly left his family to starve when he lost a good three days of work.  He normally always had a bidder, but he’d been so wrapped up with the new difficulties that had sprung up with trafficking to the South Side that he’d let time get away from him.

Tiredly, Tobin closed his eyes, but his brain kept going for awhile after he tried to surrender to sleep.

~~~

The next morning, despite being the last person in bed, Tobin was the first person up.  He’d hurried around, pulling together what breakfast he could (cereal and milk since it seemed all of the eggs had gone off).  He’d gotten the younger boy out of bed and gotten him off to school at a decent hour before going into the living room and making as much noise as he could picking up the empty beer bottles and god knew what else off the floor.  At first he didn’t get a reaction, but eventually the lump on the couch started to stir.

“What time is it?” the woman asked in a harsh voice, wrecked and husky.

“Does it matter?” he bit at her in a low tenor full of something that might have been disappointment once before apathy had coloured it.

“Shut up,” the woman snapped at him.

Ignoring her, Tobin asked, “Did Tuck get dinner last night, or were you too strung out to realize you’d birthed a second child again, Dora?”

“Watch your goddamn mouth,” Dora said, sitting up, “And go get me a beer.  I’m thirsty.”

The woman called Dora looked like she might have been pretty once in another lifetime.  Now she was wasted and thin from years of drug and alcohol abuse.  She had deep bags beneath both of her mud-puddle brown eyes and crow’s feet cut deep ravines alongside them.  Her hair, dyed a cheap black, was messy and askew.  One of her pencil-filled eyebrows was smeared as was the remnants of her mascara and eyeliner.  Tobin looked at her with suspicion.

“Dora, you didn’t bring a john back to the house to fuck again, did you?” he accused.

“So what if I did? At least one of us does something around here,” she bit back with a condescending snap to her tone.

“Tell me Tuck wasn’t home when you had him here.”

“He was fine.”

“Mom, you promised!” Tobin said in exasperated anger.

“Don’t you call me that.  You’re lucky I don’t throw you out.  If I say Tuck was fine, then Tuck was fine.  Now go get me a beer,” Dora said venomously.

“…Get your own damn beer,” the boy replied after a moment before walking out of the house.

He’d be back in time to get Tuck from school.

~~~

Leaving his mother and her den of filth and decay behind him, Tobin made the walk back towards Central, posture defensive as always.  His walk was more of a thuggish stalk, hands never leaving his pockets as he made his body into an impenetrable wall of impassible brutishness.  His normally sleepy looking eyes looked even more tired today, sleep-deprived from the night before.  He should have been at home, trying to sleep off another night shift of petty crime but he had other important things to do today. 

Up with the sun to get his brother ready and now off to sell his next heat.

His walk took him through the worst parts of the city, the part where junkies loitered on doorsteps and trash from careless sanitation workers and drunks littered the streets.  This was the inner city, the place where only those born and bred in its ghettos were reasonably safe.  Only they knew the heartbeat of the monster and only they knew how to navigate around its jagged teeth.  His feet carried him past the High School, the bell for lunch assaulting his ears.

He dragged his hand along the chain link that guarded the school’s property.  Technically, he should have been there with the other kids his age.  He should have been a Junior in High School, 17 years of age and only concerned about passing his tests and making it to Senior year.  Instead he’d been kicked out the year previous for weapons related charges after some motherfucker had tried to jump him in the bathroom and he’d taken the bastard down.  Just because he was a poor Omega didn’t mean anybody had the right to get smart with him.  He’d made sure everyone knew that even as the school handed him his walking papers.  At least he had more time to work now.

Tobin was sharply aware of eyes watching him from the yard as he passed.  Just because he was gone didn’t mean he wasn’t remembered as the freak Omega with a knife.

The looks lingered until he ducked around a corner, following the old route to the club with only half a mind on where his feet were going.  He knew the way so well by now that it was practically automatic instinct.  This time of the day, the club was open, but mainly functioned as a bar for the locals, most of whom were too drunk and worn down to notice him slipping past.  Those that did said nothing.  They knew Tobin’s aggressive gait by now and also knew who he was to the owner.  It was just smarter to say nothing and keep your eyes to your drink.

The blonde Omega slid past one of the bodyguards who stood ominously by the door guarding the VIP lounge.  They didn’t even bother to look at one another. 

Tobin entered and walked up to the big black desk that sat at the back of the room, standing and looking down his nose as the man seated behind it.  The Boss, no name given, was a portly man with an unfortunate penchant for cigars that had permanently scented his breath and clothing.  It was a disgusting smell, but one that the Omega was used to.  He didn’t even flinch as the Alpha looked up at him, rolling one of his favored cigars between forefinger and thumb.  The round man took a sniff of the air and grinned.

“That time again, Toby?” he wheezed with glee in his shark-like eyes.

“Yes sir,” Tobin affirmed, “Opening bid is same as always.  You wanna spread the word?”

Slapping a hand down on the table, The Boss said, “I can do you one better, kid, since you’ve just solved a very big problem for me.”

Tobin didn’t ask, but the suspicion in his eyes was easy to read all the same.

“Basically, we’ve got a very good, very rich client comin’ in to the city for the week and we wanted to give him a nice little present.  See, we’ve got a big deal coming up to shift a lot of our overstock and we wanna keep him sweet.  We wanna make sure he feels nice and generous when time comes to hand over payment, yeah?” The Boss leered.

Tobin took the hint, “You want me.”

“We’ll double the highest bid from the last heat for it, Toby boy.  Sweet deal for him, sweeter deal for you.  You wanna help us out, boy? Wanna help YOURSELF out?” the fat man wheedled.

Double his last highest bid.  That was a tantalizing amount of money, though Tobin kept his face carefully blank.  With money like that he could afford to stock up their pantry and hide some away for when he eventually moved out with Tuck in tow.  Carefully, looking dim as he knew was expected of him, Tobin nodded.  The rotund Alpha looked overjoyed and clapped his hands.

“Good boy, Toby! He comes into town tomorrow and, from the smell of you, that’s about when you’ll be up for putting out, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Tobin responded, nodding.

“He’ll love you,” The Boss said, pulling out a pen and jotting something down on a business card, “Be at this address by 9pm.  Report back here after you two have had your fun and I’ll have payment waiting.”

Without another word, Tobin reached out for the little rectangle of white paper, looking down at it.  The black letters of the address glared up at him for only a second before he picked it up and shoved it in his pocket.  That was one problem taken care of.  He nodded at The Boss and turned, walking out the way he came.  He had enough time before he had to pick his little brother up for a drink at the bar just outside. 

~~~

With a double gin in him, Tobin waited outside the gates of his little brother’s Elementary School for the last bell to ring.  When it sounded, it was every bit as shrill to his ears as the one at the High School had been.  He had become so unused to the sound after a year away.  He looked around as doors started opening and stiff-backed teachers began leading their charges towards the bus or the car pick-up lanes.  A few pedestrian children came running out, heading for the parents who stood far off from him.  None of them trusted his look.  Hell, the first time he’d come to pick his little brother up, he’d gotten the police called on him by a neurotic Assistant Principle who’d thought he was there to deal.

The irony of it had almost had him doubling over in hysterics.  Almost.

As it was, Tobin never really smiled or laughed…except when he saw his little brother’s brown mop come bobbing into view from behind a larger boy.  Only then did he smile and kneel down, waiting for Tuck to get to him and even then it was a secretive little one half hidden in his cheek.

“Hey T.  Good day?” He asked.

“Yeah.  I mean, it was okay.  Miss Carmichael says we’ve all gotta bring something for the End of the Year Party,” Tuck sounded shy and agonized over that.

Their family had never had the money required to buy anything for school parties.  When Tobin was scrabbling down to the bone just to keep them fed, party items tended to fall by the wayside.  He’d tried to save up a little for something when Tuck had moved up from Kindergarten, but Dora had found it and spent it on cigarettes.  Tobin had never had the heart to tell his little brother about that one. 

Instead, he just took Tuck’s hand and started to walk him away, “We’ll see what we can do, okay T?”

Tuck’s eyes lit up at the half-promise and he nodded sharply.  Hell, with all the money coming Tobin’s way if he didn’t fuck this meeting up tomorrow, he could set a little aside for something small.  Cookies maybe.  When Tuck had worked so hard, surely he could afford to budget in something as ordinary and commonplace as cookies.  He knew his little brother liked them.  He’d been nearly euphoric when another kid had brought some in on their birthday to share with the class.

They walked home and for once Tobin had a hand out of his pocket so he could hold his little brother’s hand.  Tuck was the only person Tobin had ever felt any sort of softness towards…the only person who had ever looked at the surly Omega as if he were worth something.  They were as different as night and day, but the minute a 10 year old Tobin had seen his newborn brother, a bond had formed that had only grown with them.  It was his love for Tuck that had driven him finally to drug-running and, when even that wasn’t enough, the bizarre sort of prostitution he’d taken up.

When they got home, Tobin made Tuck wait behind him to make sure Dora didn’t have a John in.  When he found the living room deserted, he ushered his little brother in and got him situated on the couch.

“Why don’t you see if there’s some cartoons or somethin’? I’m gonna see what we’ve got for dinner,” Tobin said, shuffling off towards the kitchen.

He heard Tuck flip the ancient device on and sighed, rubbing a hand over one of the shaved sides of his head, “Hey T? Buddy? You’re off school tomorrow, right?”

He felt self-hate boiling up in his guts when Tuck answered with a confused, “Yeah.  It’s Saturday?”

“Right.  Yeah.  Um, look, T? I’ve gotta go and do somethin’ for the weekend so uh…do you got any friends at school you could stay with?” Here was the only downside to his plan.

“More work?” Tuck sounded sad.

Tobin winced, knowing his brother couldn’t see it, “Yeah, T.  Big job this weekend.”

There was silence from the living room for a minute before, “I’m not allowed to stay over at Joey’s anymore.”

“Why the fuck NOT?” Tobin growled, sticking his head out of the kitchen.

Tuck was staring at the tv, trying to avoid the conversation, “…Cause his mom says mommy’s a drug addict and I’m a bad example.”

Tobin glowered, angry enough to spit, “Well what the fuck does she know?”

“…I can stay here, I can.  I’ll be good.  I know you’ve gotta work,” Tuck said quickly, throwing himself into the fire for his big brother.

“…You remember what to do if mommy has a man over, right?” Tobin said after a minute of agonizing hesitation.

“I lock my door and don’t come out,” the little boy replied.

“You sure you’ll be okay?” Tobin worried over his younger sibling.

“Yeah.  I’m a big boy now,” Tuck affirmed, trying for a smile.

Unable to help himself, Tobin walked over and ruffled his hair, “Yeah you are.  Okay then, bedtime is still at 8, there’s cereal in the cabinet and where’s the emergency money?”

“Under the ripped carpet under your bed,” Tuck reeled off.

“Alright.  Hey, how about spaghetti for dinner, huh? Still got a few cans of it,” Tobin offered, the conversation over.

~~~

Dora still hadn’t been home by the next evening, so Tobin had been forced to leave her a note that said:  
                _Dora.  I’ve gotta go out for the weekend and T’s still here.  Don’t bring any men in the house, no drugs and try being sober for once._

His handwriting had shaken only slightly from the effects of heat sneaking up on him.

With no hope in his heart that Dora would step up and actually be a mom for once, Tobin had left in his best pair of jeans for the address on the card.  It was a fairly nice hotel owned by The Boss so it catered to the fancier contacts they had in town while still turning a blind eye to the illegal activities that went down in there.  Cops knew it existed, but it ran such covert operations that there was fuck all they could do to stop it.  Frankly, Tobin was glad it was somewhere he knew since the heat’s symptoms were getting stronger by the minute.  As it was, he was passed a keycard as he came in for a room on the third floor and directed to the elevator.  The staff could smell the heat on him and knew what he was there for, so no one stopped him.

He made it up to the room with his skin burning and closed the door, taking a few hard swallows.  The guy wasn’t here yet.  It gave Tobin time to strip out of his clothes before the lube his body had started to produce could ruin his jeans.  He panted softly, always shaken by how quickly heat could overtake him and hating it.  He hated the weakness of it, of being vulnerable for two or three days or at least beholden to any Alpha who came along to stick a dick in you.  His legs trembled and he was forced to sit down heavily on the bed, tilting his head back and gasping softly.  He’d be a terrible mess by the time his client got in, but at least it would make him more tantalizing.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting there and shaking like a leaf when he heard the door click open.  The scent of Alpha breezed into the room and he let out a helpless whimper of need.  He could barely make sense of anything he was seeing, but he could still hear fine.  He heard shoes approaching him over the carpet and he heard some soft conversation and the click of a door closing.  Suddenly, a strong hand was on his chin and his body turned into a livewire.

“Well, I have to say this is the prettiest present I’ve ever been given.  I’d ask your name, sweetheart, but you’re in no fit state to give it right now, are you? Shhh…it’s alright, I’ve got what you need,” the voice had a Latin sound to it.  Colombian, maybe?

Big hands pushed him down onto the bed and parted his thighs.  He fisted the sheets and rolled his hips, begging with whimpers and moans that he would hate himself for tomorrow.  A blush rose across his pale skin and those hands stroked appreciatively down his muscles, stopping here and there to squeeze at a bicep or sculpted pectoral.  Tobin whined at each touch, practically melting when his nipples were pinched cruelly.

“Yes, daddy knows exactly what you need.  Look at you…such a big boy for an Omega.  Bet you’re a tough guy, aren’t you? Bet you want it rough, don’t you, bitch? Don’t worry, I know how to treat uppity sluts like you,” the man, whoever he was, sounded positively delighted at the prospect.

Something in the rational part of Tobin’s brain recoiled from the talk before being promptly swallowed up by his lizard-brain lusts.

“God, look at those lips.  Your lips were built for sucking cock, weren’t they?”

Tobin was aware of movement and of the man looming over his face, of something hard brushing his lips demandingly.  Lost to heat, he tried to groan and push the man away.  He didn’t want his cock there.  He didn’t NEED it in his mouth.  He needed it between his legs, big and hot and promising a thick knot.  His body discharged more slick at the very thought.  All his troubles got him was a dick pushed forcefully into his mouth, the man pushing in without giving him time to adjust.

“Trying to fight already, baby? You just need a big Alpha to put you in your place.  Too bad I can’t bond with you or I could do it every time,” the man accompanied his words with a strong thrust down Tobin’s throat.

The Omega gagged and the man groaned a little himself, “I can feel you learning your lesson already, slut.”

He fucked Tobin’s face while the Omega gagged and swallowed, trying to get air.  He was afraid for just a minute that the man would keep going until he came…would waste his sperm other than where it needed to be.  He whimpered and dragged his nails helplessly over the Alpha’s hips, earning a hard thrust.

“You want it so bad, don’t you? Daddy’s gonna give it to you,” the man hissed, pulling out of Tobin’s mouth while the Omega coughed and shivered.

Those big, strong hands were on him again, grabbing him bruisingly by the hips and flipping him over onto his stomach.  He was pulled up so he was practically presenting himself like a brood mare, panting on his knees and squirming.  A hand slapped him hard on the ass, leaving a burning mark in its wake before the man stepped back and Tobin could hear clothes hitting the carpet.  Then the Alpha was there, mounting him like an animal and smothering him in his heat…his scent.

Tobin was lucky his body had already relaxed to accept the other man, because there was no preparation, only his dick forcing in past the little rose of muscle like a battering ram.  A thready whine escaped Tobin’s mouth as he felt it fill him up all the way until the man’s balls brushed against his ass.  When the man stopped playing, it was like an assault.  He fucked him hard and fast, shoving his cock in as deep as it would go and holding Tobin in place against the pain with a punishing grip on his hips.  He growled in his ear, reveling in the shocked yelps he forced out of Tobin with every thrust.  For his part, Tobin was so lost to the heat that he barely registered anything but the need to feel the man’s knot.

Loathing would come when the haze left.

He wasn’t sure how long the man humped against him, only that his knees and elbows were beginning to strain and he’d come at some point, when he felt the large dick push as deep as it could go into him.  He let out something like a shriek as the first splash of cum burst into him followed by the swell of the Alpha’s knot, locking them together until Tobin was impossibly full.

Trembling and overwrought, he passed out.

He couldn’t count how many times the man fucked him over the next day and a half.  At one point he was even aware of waking up to the sensation of being thrust into before fading out again.  He knew he’d sucked the man again at some point and that he’d been fucked over a table, but the memories were all vague when he finally woke up to find the heat gone.  He was lying on his stomach, face buried in a pillow when he came to, groaning as every muscle in his body protested.  He could feel the dried fluids between his legs and winced, hating himself intensely.

Slowly, Tobin turned his head to see the man was still there, just straightening up his tie and getting ready to leave.  He watched him.

At last, the man turned and smirked at him, “Well, that was an extremely pleasant way to begin business negotiations.  You’re much wilder than my wife.  You tough ones…you’re so much fun to tame.  I’ll let your employers know how very pleased I am.”

He started to head for the door and was arrested by Tobin’s voice, scratchy and hoarse from shouting, “Morning after pills?”

He sounded slurry even to his own ears.

The man chuckled, “And forward thinking.  I like it.  I’ll have reception send some up.”

With that, the man disappeared out of the room, leaving Tobin alone with his self-loathing. 

~~~

Someone from the front desk showed up about thirty minutes later with a box of the pills, giving Tobin an appraising look.  The boy just bared his teeth at the desk-worker and grabbed the box, slamming the door behind him.  Roughly, he ripped open the cardboard box and popped one of the little pills designed specifically for Omegas who’d gotten a little too away from themselves during a heat.  He swallowed it dry and hobbled into the bathroom, going to draw a hot bath to soothe his aches while he still had the privacy of the room.

He caught sight of himself in the mirror and paused.  He was a wreck.  His hair was a mess and his whole body was littered with bruises and scratches.  He could see leftovers of the man’s come flaking off his thighs, turned slightly pinkish by what could have only been blood.  He’d asked for that.  He’d probably begged for all of it in his stupid animal state.  Tobin gritted his teeth in revulsion and felt the intense urge to break the mirror.  At least there was no bonding bite.  He might be fucked six ways to Sunday, but at least he was still free.

The first cramp from the pill hit him, low and warning of worse to come, and he growled, sliding down into the hot bath he’d started just before seeing the mirror.  He was alone for the moment with nothing but his pain and his thoughts.  Feeling the heat wrapping around him, Tobin sunk down into the water until only his face was left and he closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his head.  So this was his life.  He’d likely just whored himself out to a Colombian drug lord for an exorbitant sum of money to care for a little brother who would be ashamed of him if he only knew.  He was disgusting, but what else was he supposed to do?

He had no income other than the jobs he ran for the crime syndicate, no chance of further schooling, no skills outside of being a slut and a thug apparently and no way out of the ghetto.  It hurt, but he was turning in to everything he hated about his mother.  She was a whore and so was he.  What would he do when he was too old and unattractive for this part of the job?

Another cramp ripped through him and he grimaced.  He’d carry the pain around with him for the next few days to remind him of just what he’d done.

~~~

Naturally, when he’d gone to collect his pay, The Boss had been overjoyed and had even added a little money on the top.  Apparently the first day of deals had gone pretty well.  Tobin hadn’t stuck around to chat and instead had headed right home. 

The walk had taken longer than before, but it usually did when he was like this.  He was in pain from the sex and the pill and so had to go very slowly.  He wouldn’t think of himself as delicate, but he definitely wasn’t at his best.  Luckily the bath had washed off all of the stink of estrus so nobody harassed him on the way home.  He just wanted to see his brother and hide the money he’d earned so Dora could never touch it.  Sure she’d scream at him and call him a thief (she always did), but she never knew he’d been supporting the family on his own back for years, convinced that it was only the money she brought in from whoring that saved them.  Never mind that all of HER money went to alcohol and drugs.

He got up to the apartment and unlocked it, stepping inside.  He immediately felt that something was wrong.

His note was still on the table where he’d left it.  There were no new beer bottles on the floor, no new needles to be swept up and hidden and no condoms anywhere.  The television was on, but it looked like Dora had never been home.  He couldn’t see Tuck either.

“T!” he shouted, closing the door behind him, “T! Where are you?”

Slowly, the little boy’s messy brown head popped out from around the corner.  He looked like he’d been crying.  Tobin dashed over to him, ignoring his own pain and kneeling down.

“T, where’s mommy? Has she been here?” Tobin was searching his little brother all over to make sure he hadn’t been hurt.

“Mommy’s dead,” Tuck said in a flat voice.

Tobin froze and felt all the blood in his veins turn to ice.  He looked up sharply at his little brother, studying him.  He hadn’t seen any blood coming in to the house…

Tuck cleared it up for him a moment later, “Mommy didn’t come back.  I wanted to watch Bugs Bunny.  The lady on the news said she was dead and there was a picture.  It was mommy.  They don’t know who she is.  I tried to call the police, but mommy said I wasn’t allowed to use the phone.”

During his little brother’s explanation, Tobin’s stomach had performed some pretty damn impressive acrobatics.  His stomach knotted and dropped before his heart jumped up into his throat, all riding a wave of adrenaline that nearly stopped him breathing.  He could feel his pupils dilating and before he knew what he was doing, he had his arms wrapped fiercely around Tuck, burying his nose into the boy’s fluffy mop of brown hair.  He was holding him so tight, but the little boy didn’t cry out or whine.  He was such a good boy.

“No, T, no.  Don’t you talk to the cops.  Don’t you ever talk to the cops about this.  Are you sure it was mommy?” Tobin asked, shakily.

It was all falling apart.

He’d just gotten the money to save away…enough money to start something new for Tuck once they could go.  As soon as Tobin turned 18 he could have used this money to get custody of Tuck and set them up in a new place where his little brother could have a better shot at life.  Dora wasn’t doing anything now but serving as a figurehead guardian until Tobin could take Tuck away legally and for good, but now that she was dead…if she WAS dead…she had failed in the one duty she was actually fulfilling.  If she really was dead and the cops found out who she was and where she lived, they’d come and they’d take Tuck away.  Tobin wasn’t old enough to be his legal guardian.  His beloved brother would be shoved into a system to rot.

For one white-hot instant Tobin hated his mother more than he ever had before in either of their miserable lives.

“Looked like mommy,” Tuck said softly.

“Here’s…here’s what you need to do, T.  Did old Mr. McCulver pick up his newspaper yet today?” Tobin asked, trying to get his head together.

Tuck shook his head ‘no’ and his big brother charged on, “I need you to sneak out into the hall and grab it, okay? Bring it to me.”

The boy nodded and slipped from his brother’s arms before darting to the door and out.  The whole time he was gone, Tobin listened tensely to the little boy’s feet on the scrappy carpet outside their door.  He heard them shuffle and then stop before running all the way back.  Their door slammed and suddenly Tuck was running to him, landing in his lap and flapping the newspaper about.  Tobin kissed the top of his brother’s head and tugged it away from him.

“Hey T, go watch some cartoons, okay? I wanna read this,” he set the boy back on his feet, too tired to stand up himself.

Slowly, Tuck pulled himself up and padded over to the television, turning it on numbly.  Tobin watched him, feeling his heart break because he hadn’t been there for his brother when he’d been needed.  He gritted his teeth for a moment before flicking the paper open to the story.  Dead bodies in this part of the city were rarely reported unless they were sensational and an unidentified woman dead of an overdose on the edge of the rich section of town was just that.  Tobin looked at the picture that had been provided in the paper and knew without a doubt that it was Dora.  She must have hooked up with some rich, sleazy john who bailed the minute it had all started to go south.

Tobin felt a twinge of something that might have been sadness in his heart.  However, it couldn’t have been that…no.  No, he’d felt nothing but anger for the woman since he was small…since she’d proven to him that he meant less to her than a dirty needle.  No…couldn’t possibly be sadness.

Quietly, Tobin put the newspaper away and looked around the horrible little apartment.  There were still months to go until he was 18 and old enough to claim Tuck as his dependent.  He could always take the risk that they wouldn’t figure out who Dora was until after his birthday had come around, but Tobin had learned long ago never to lay your cards on luck.  He knew the minute a reward was offered for information, every dealer and pimp in town would ooze out from the cracks to squeal.  He raked a long-fingered hand through his hair and huffed.  He didn’t trust anyone else enough to take Tuck.  He had utterly no idea what to do.

He walked over and flopped down on one of the dining area chairs.  They were rickety and mis-matched, but held his weight with barely a creak.  He could practically hear the minutes ticking down until the whole situation went nuclear.  He couldn’t stop it now that the wheels were set in motion and the worst part was that he had no clue what he’d do in the first place.  He looked over at Tuck curled up and alone on the couch and sighed, running a hand over his face.  First things first then…he needed to do something for his little brother to take his mind off the fact that his mother’s corpse was plastered all over the news.  Neither of them had liked her, really, but she was still ‘mom’ and no kid needed to see that. 

“T, get your shoes.  We’re gonna go to the park, okay? I’ll grab the bread heels out of the freezer to go feed the ducks.  You like that, don’t you?” he asked, remembering one time he’d taken Tuck to the nice park in the rich section of town when Dora had been on a mad one.

One of the knots in Tobin’s chest uncoiled as he watched his little brother’s eyes light up.  Not even the ripple of pain from his cramps could ruin that look in Tuck’s eyes as he dashed to get his shoes.  It wasn’t a permanent fix, but a day in the park…they could afford that long, couldn’t they?

~~~

It was amazing how animals could perk a kid right up no matter what the trauma.  There were brand new ducklings out at the park all waddling in their fluffy glory around the big central pond.  As soon as they’d gotten in, Tuck had raced off to go look at them it excitement with barely a thought.  Tobin didn’t stop him.  He knew exactly where he’d be for at least a little while.

The park was perfect in the way that parks for the wealthy often were.  It was neat with lush emerald grass all perfectly trimmed and soft.  It had long walking paths lined on either side with long avenues of trees still covered in full heads of bright jade leaves that rustled in the warm breezes of early Summer.  There were well-off students from the local university sitting and reading on the benches scattered all around and the pond that dominated the center of the great park was cool and blue and healthy with wildlife.  Tobin loved looking at the park, but avoided it for the most part since people like him got stared at more often than not.  Every so often, he’d catch a security guard staring at him warily, waiting for him to make a wrong move.

Wanting to give his brother some space, Tobin moved to sit on a bench a little bit away from the pond, but close enough he could grab Tuck if something went wrong.  It was a nice little bench out of the sunlight and covered in cooling breezes.  It was quiet and away from most of the chatty groups that dominated the sprawling space.  He welcomed the quiet because it gave him time to think.

At least it did until some asshole parked right behind him to try and have a chat.  It was an Omega, one of the preening, upper-crust ones all giggly and effeminate and annoying as fuck.  Tobin could smell Alpha as well and he grunted, closing his eyes and trying to block them out.

“Mr. Gray! Fancy seeing you out and about!” The Omega exclaimed with something that was damn near a simper.

The Alpha spoke, his tones playful, light and carelessly cultured, “Have to get a break from the Board Room sometimes.”

“How do you take a break from saving the world?” was the tittered response.

“I think, dear Mr. Grace, that you vastly overrate my importance,” the Alpha sounded easily dismissive.

“Nonsense!” The Omega called ‘Grace’ responded, “By the way, I am so glad I caught you.  I was wondering if you were planning on attending the Charity Debutante Auction tomorrow?”

“I think the question is, will you be up for auction, Mr. Grace?” was the reply.

Tobin was trying to block it all out and he growled a little when he realized their voices still cut through his head like power tools.

“Why yes! However, I’m afraid I’m only in the category for a date.  I don’t think ANYONE is mad enough to enter as a Bond-Bid!” Grace said with polite shock colouring his tone.

Before the Alpha could speak, Tobin turned over his shoulder and glared at them both, “It’s a big park.  Suck each others’ dicks somewhere else.”

The look of scandalized outrage he got from the Omega was instantaneous and predictable, really.  The Omega was a slim thing with pale skin and perfectly manicured hands.  He had soft brown hair and blue eyes that were doll-like in their size.  He had the ridiculous look of fragility all high-society Omegas liked to cultivate and Tobin frankly couldn’t spare a breath on fuckers like them.  The Alpha, however…the Alpha definitely took him by surprise. 

The Alpha who seemed to be called Mr. Gray was rather on the small side, only a bare inch taller than Tobin himself.  He wasn’t overly muscled, just athletic and well taken care of.  His skin was lightly tanned, his hair a chocolate brown so deep it was almost black with eyes that matched beneath intelligent brows.  He wore neatly trimmed facial hair around his mouth.  Unlike the Omega, dressed up even in the park, the Alpha was wearing gray sweatpants and a hoodie and, most bafflingly of all, he looked terribly amused.

He and Tobin tried to stare each other down, Tobin with a dark glare and Mr. Gray with an insufferable little smirk as if the Omega had just done a particularly adorable trick. 

“Mr. Grace? I do believe I will see you Tomorrow,” the Alpha nodded to the other Omega who simply frowned at Tobin and turned to go, clearly assuming that Mr. Gray intended to stay behind and discipline the other.

Once he had gone, Mr. Gray sidled over and slid down onto the bench next to Tobin, “You’re a little hostile, don’t you think?”

He was still smirking, the bastard.

“Hey, I don’t wanna hear about your stupid dates.  All I said was to take it somewhere else,” Tobin snapped, not backing away.

“Well then you’ll be happy to know we weren’t discussing a date at all! We were discussing an upcoming Charity Auction with proceeds to benefit a local children’s hospital,” Mr. Gray said, obviously drawing the conversation out just to be irritating.

It was working, “What do I care?”

“Well, it’s for all nice Omegas to auction themselves off.  Highest bidder gets a date with their Omega…unless, of course, a particularly ballsy Omega chooses on being a Bond-Bid…in which case the highest bidder gets an engagement instead of a date.  Madness, all of it, but still funny,” the Alpha winked.

“I ain’t one of your little high society ‘nice’ Omegas,” Tobin said, baring his teeth at the guy who just wouldn’t fucking leave.

“No, I can see that.  I think you’d liven up the party nicely,” Mr. Gray replied.

Before Tobin could think about that too much, he found a business card shoved into his hand and the Alpha stood.

“The address and dress code are on the card.  That’s my plus one invite.  I expect you to be there…unless you’re scared of course,” the Alpha shot him one last wink before jogging off down one of the paths.

For a minute Tobin was too boggled to respond, watching after the man with stunned blue eyes as he tried to puzzle out what exactly had happened.  He blinked down at the card sitting between his limp fingers…a pale yellow thing with gold lettering on it.  Names and times all flashed up at him as a ray of sun caught the gold and everything finally seemed to catch up with him.  It hit him like a damn freight train and he stood in disgust to go and throw the card away.  The Alpha had mocked him! Made a game of him and now he wanted him to show up at this Auction like a dancing monkey.  Screw that.

His hand made it as far as the bin before he hovered…hesitated…struck by a terrible, wonderful idea.

He’d show that fucking Mr. Gray who was scared.

~~~

That night after Tobin had gotten his little brother home and fed and bathed, he was working on settling Tuck into bed.  The poor little guy had gotten so tired out playing in the park that he’d had to be carried most of the way home, but Tobin didn’t mind.  He’d made his arms strong for his little brother and they could handle his weight.  Now he was tucking him in to bed and brushing his hair back.  There hadn’t been any talk about Dora yet and Tobin was glad of it.  He still wasn’t sure how to handle it, never mind how to help his 7 year old brother cope with the loss.

He sat on the edge of Tuck’s bed and murmured, “T? I have to ask you a big favour.”

“What?” Tuck asked, yawning.

“Can you be a big boy and get yourself ready for bed tomorrow night? I’ve got a thing to do and I won’t be back til’ late,” he replied, less guilty this time.

Suddenly, he found his little brother clinging to him with a strength he hadn’t known he possessed.  The boy was shaking.  He seemed absolutely panicked.

“Don’t go, big brother! Please don’t go!” Tuck wailed.

Tobin tried to shush him, pulling the boy into his lap and rocking him, “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

“The last time you went away mommy died!” The little boy sobbed.

The not-accusation hit Tobin like a fist to the stomach and he nearly doubled over with it.  What kind of asshole was he, leaving his brother so soon after their mom’s death? How could he even think about leaving his impressionable, confused little sibling all alone in an unfriendly world…in an empty house full of nothing but abandoned beer bottles and ghosts? He almost lost his resolve right then and there.

However, that ticking of lost time was still thundering away in his skull.  Looked like he was going to have to be a little cruel for the sake of a mad gamble.

Carefully, he pulled his little brother’s face away from his shoulder so they were eye to eye, icy blue locking with warm brown.  When he was sure he had Tuck’s attention he spoke, knowing that there was no way to make this easy.

“Alright T, shhhh, it’s alright.  It’s just one night, okay? I promise.  I’m just gonna be doin’ something to make sure we can stay together,” he explained, watching Tuck’s face.

“Cause the police? They’ll say I’m too young to take care of you now Mommy’s gone.  I gotta try somethin’ a little crazy to make sure nobody takes you away, got it? Tobin’s only leavin’ cause he wants to keep you right here with him, yeah?” He couldn’t lie to Tuck now, even though the truth was hard.

Tobin drove it home with a soft, “Nobody’s gonna separate us, got it?”

“Yeah,” Tuck said after a minute, not understanding it all, but accepting the soothing sound of his brother’s voice.

The older boy held his brother until he had fallen into a sort of fitful slumber, only then tucking him back up under his blankets.  It left Tobin all alone with his thoughts.  He’d always thought he was alone before, but now he really was in a way he hadn’t prepared for before.  Even though Dora had been a millstone around his neck, she’d always at least been a presence.  Now she was just gone…and if he failed in his endeavour tomorrow, he might well lose Tobin too…and then he really would be alone.

He shivered and walked over to his own bed even though he knew he wouldn’t sleep at all tonight.

~~~

The morning and day following passed in a blur.  Tobin had moved in a haze of exhaustion the next morning, hair sticking up from hours of tossing and turning as he made his brother eat a good breakfast.  He’d gotten them both dressed and walked Tuck to school, waving goodbye to him at the front gate before heading into the city.  He hated dipping into the money he’d earned already, but if he was going to have the best hand on his gamble tonight, he needed to pay a little in to the dealer.  That meant he’d have to be within dress-code (which was apparently black-tie) and at least look a little presentable. 

He’d stayed away from the fancy places (because, while he needed to look nice, there was no need to go overboard) and tried second-hand stores instead.  He’d browsed the racks looking totally out of place and feeling the same way, unsure of measurements or colours or cuts.  At one point he was just standing in front of a line of waistcoats looking like he wanted to pull his hair out and an elderly Beta man took pity on him.  In the end, he’d been sorted out with a slim black three-piece suit, white shirt and black tie.  He felt like he was choking in it, but at least he felt like he looked alright.

Just looking at himself in one of the long mirrors had butterflies of anxiety trying to force their way out of his throat.

He’d never felt more comfortable than when he’d put on his own clothing again, suit safely in a bag, and walked out the door to head home until it was time to get his brother.  Luckily, there were no calls in from The Boss today, so he didn’t have any need to go running around from Central to South Side and back.  Seems like they were still wrapped up with sorting out the deal with the Colombian, which gave him time to breathe. 

When he’d finally gone to get Tuck and bring him home, the boy had just looked at his big brother with a raised eyebrow.  Tuck was sitting at the kitchen table, drawing with the scraps of crayons he still had, while Tobin rushed back and forth through the house getting himself ready.  He showered in a rush and almost cut himself shaving before charging through the house in only a towel to grab up his new-old suit.  He tugged it on and cursed when he accidentally knocked some of his aftershave onto himself, spilling it all over the sleeve of the coat.  The worst part was, however, when he finally had his tie all knotted and all the buttons done up just right and he realized that he didn’t actually own a single pair of shoes that would work for tonight.

He thumped his forehead gently on the mirror in the bathroom, hating his inability to plan.

By then Tuck had followed him in to the bathroom and was just staring at him, “…What’s wrong, Toby?”

“I don’t have the right shoes,” he grumbled into the mirror’s surface.

“I like your shoes,” his little brother said plainly, looking confused.

“Nah, T I need special shoes for this.  Like…like James Bond shoes,” he tried to explain to the 7 year old why he was the most phenomenal idiot ever.

Tuck shrugged, “Daddy had James Bond shoes.  They’re under mommy’s bed.”

Tobin perked up and blinked at his little brother with his sleepy eyes while the kid dashed out.  There was the sound of rummaging and shuffling before Tuck reappeared.  He was holding the shoes in his hands, a pair of battered, unpolished black dress shoes.  They were ugly and they’d belonged to the asshole his mom had married, but they’d do.  They’d be ten times better than his tennis shoes anyway.  He kissed Tuck on the head in gratitude and leaned down to tug them on and lace them up before standing and showing his little brother.

“How do I look, T?” He asked, doing a slow turn.

“Like James Bond,” said the small boy and Tobin grinned.

The blonde man gathered his wallet and invite up off the bathroom counter before turning to his little brother again, “Okay, I have to go, T.  Now, what are the rules tonight?”

“Bedtime at 8.  Don’t open the door for police.  Go get Mr. McCulver if something bad happens,” Tuck reeled off, following Tobin as he walked out of the bathroom.

“Yup.  Good boy,” Tobin said, leaning down to kiss the top of his head, “Okay…I’ll come in and say hello when I’m back, okay T? Bye bye!”

He didn’t mind baby-talking a little when it was his little brother he was talking to.  He waited for Tuck to wave and then left, locking the door tight behind him and praying he was making the right choice.

~~~

The venue for the Auction thingy was…huge.  It was in the nicest part of the city, a historical building all pristine and white with massive Doric columns just off the front.  There was a red carpet laid out through the main door and Tobin almost ran when he saw all the richly dressed people laughing and chatting and wandering in that way.  He was willingly going into that mess.  He would be putting his neck on the chopping block and rendering himself up for criticism just by walking in there.  Socialites were savages.

Still, he thought of Tuck and steeled his heart before walking in.  When the usher on the door gave him a funny look and tried to stop him, Tobin handed over his plus one invite.  The man looked it over for longer than was necessary, trying to find some fault or flaw that meant he could turn Tobin away.  After a moment he realized the man was staring at his battered shoes and he blushed angrily as he was finally waved through.  He walked in and almost immediately felt like he was drowning.

If he thought the building’s outside was fancy, it had nothing on the opulence of the interior.  Marble floors were filled with men and women in sparkling gowns and neatly pressed designer suits.  Tables covered in rich gold fabric lined the area near the walls and museum artifacts sat on pedestals here and there for the gaily dressed throng to gape over between glasses of champagne. 

A young woman attendant walked up to him, “Excuse me, sir? Will you be entering the auction?” 

She smiled in a way that was polished and fake and god help him, Tobin nodded.  She ushered him back towards a large stage that dominated the back half of the room.  She pointed out a sign-in sheet for the Un-Bonded Omega participants and it was separated into two categories just as Grace and Gray had mentioned yesterday.  He looked around quickly before signing it and being led to a sitting area to wait with the other participants, social butterflies all.  He earned a few sideways glances from the others and he sat awkwardly, totally out of his element.

From the stage he heard someone say over a microphone, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Auction will be starting shortly so that you may spend the rest of the evening with your partners.  We formally welcome you to the 5th Annual Charity Auction benefiting St. Joan’s Children’s Hospital.”

Some excited chatter picked up amongst the Omegas seated there and one of them Tobin definitely recognized.  The one called Mr. Grace was seated diagonally to him and giving him a look as if he’d eaten a bug.  Tobin tried to stare straight ahead and bite down the yelling he wanted to do about being stared at.  He couldn’t hit anyone here.  There was too much riding on his good behavior.  He could forget that he was being stared at if he tried hard enough, but he couldn’t disregard the whispers that were picking up from that part of the waiting area.

“What is he doing here?” he heard a young female Omega whisper.

“I suppose he’s just a little more entertainment,” Grace responded in a slightly louder tone.

“How’d he even get in? I don’t recognize him,” another voice pressing in on Tobin’s psyche.

“Another charity case.  Must be,” Grace responded, “Mr. Gray must have thought it terribly droll.”

“He does have the strangest sense of humour,” it was the girl again.

Tobin ground his teeth and put his elbows on his spread knees, resting his forehead against his fists to clear his head. 

Suddenly, all of the chatter ceased as the microphone went live again.  The speaker made a second welcome and announced that it was time for the Auction to start.  All the whispering went out the window as the little Omega Debutante’s made excited noises and smoothed down their outfits.  The first name was called and the slim girl stood and walked to the stage.  Once again, Tobin felt like he wanted to run, but he couldn’t.  He wasn’t a coward.  He reminded himself of that even when the bids started out in the main room.  Voices rose and fell and bids were called in good humour until a winner was announced amidst polite applause. 

The money these people paid for a date was more than Tobin had seen in his entire life.

The man on the stage called “Next up, Mr. Sydney Grace!”

He went on to describe the Omega, his family connection and his likes and dislikes while Sydney rose and brushed past Tobin.  As he did, he bumped him with his hip and walked out with a beatific smile on his face, demure and well-behaved.  Tobin hated him just a little down inside.  He looked out over the Omegas remaining back with him.  The calls and bids rose again while everyone laughed and clapped and Sydney too went for an exorbitant sum.  He didn’t return, gone off to spend the rest of the evening with his bidder.  There were only about fifteen of them back here now.

Tobin found himself sinking into his own little world, blocking out the noise and the stress as one Omega after another got up and was bid on and disappeared into the throng of the crowd.  All of them just offering a date like a good little socialite, making connections and fluttering eyelashes.  The sounds ebbed and flowed and more and more people disappeared until only Tobin was left backstage in his second hand suit and his father’s shoes.  He almost wondered if he’d been left backstage while everyone laughed at him out front…like he’d been made into a colossal joke.  He fretted and bit at his bottom lip until at last he heard his name.

“Last up, Mr. Tobin Lewis is a bit of a mysterious entry, Ladies and Gentlemen! No contacts he’d like to mention and no interests given…” the announcer had started.

Tobin’s legs were moving almost without his permission, standing him up and carrying him up the steps onto the stage.  He stared out over the sea of people who were watching suddenly, all eyes on him.  His heart fluttered and he swallowed.  The announcer was saying something else, but he stopped when he read something on his little info-card.  He turned to look at Tobin and then back to the card and finally out to the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an astoundingly courageous and daring entry here.  Mr. Lewis has entered himself as the ONLY Bond-Bid of the evening! I would like to remind our guests tonight that this is a particularly bold venture as the winner of a Bond-Bid becomes the fiancé of the entry!  Do we have an opening bid?”

At first, there was silence.  Nobody out there could quite comprehend actually taking this little venture seriously.  This was a night to spend money and pretend to care about things that mattered, but taking it beyond tonight was almost too massive to accept.  Nobody was biting.  People were murmuring to each other and staring at him and the longer no one bid, the more defeated Tobin felt inside.  He’d gambled and lost.  Still, he wouldn’t go out beaten, so he raised his chin up and look down his nose at all the assembled bluebloods, letting them know that he’d had more balls than they’d ever dream of.  Letting out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, Tobin turned to step down.

A hand shot up in the crowd, “Ten-thousand for Mr. Lewis’s hand in Bonding.”

Tobin froze, not even daring to believe at first.  He felt twin shocks of elation and terror before looking out to see who had bid such an outrageous amount on him.  His stomach clenched when he saw who it was.

The Announcer looked as surprised as him, “And Mr. Lewis goes to Mr. David Gray for an incredibly generous bid! Ladies and Gentlemen, a round of applause!”

There was only a light smattering at first interspersed with more muttering and hushed shock before it began to pick up as David walked to the stairs, holding a hand out for Tobin.  Forcing down his apprehension, Tobin walked over and took it.  That was it then.  He’d sold himself for good this time.  Not just for a few days, but for good.  David held his hand tightly as he took him over to the side.

“Y’know, when I dared you yesterday, I didn’t expect you to respond like this,” David whispered in his ear.

They found themselves in front of a low table that was originally supposed to be for show, a little notary public from the courthouse there just for a laugh.  Nobody had actually expected someone to be crazy enough to offer themselves up for a Bond-Bid and yet someone had.  Still, David smiled winningly as he walked up and just like that Tobin found a pen thrust into his hand and he was signing papers on autopilot.  It turned out his gamble hadn’t failed after all, not yet.  Yet, when the papers were signed and filed away, he felt his knees start to shake.  It was suddenly a bit too much and his head felt light.

He muttered to David, “…I need air.”

The small Alpha nodded and walked him past throngs of people who were half-congratulatory and half-curious until they were out in the night air.  Immediately, Tobin went over to one of the columns and put his back to it, sliding down with a hand over his face.  He didn’t care if he was making a scene.  He needed to breathe. 

Imagine his surprise then when he was joined by the Alpha.

“You’ve caused quite a stir, Mr. Lewis.  I didn’t imagine you’d shake the party up quite this much,” he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and held one out to Tobin, lighting it for him when he accepted.

“Still, if I’m going to mate anybody, might as well be someone interesting.  When is your next heat, anyway? Gotta plan the Bonding Ceremony and all that,” the man continued, blowing a thin stream of smoke out of his mouth.

He looked over at Tobin and realized the other was kind of in shut-down.

David spoke in a nonchalant tone, “Yeah, it does all seem kind of big when all’s said and done.”

When Tobin still didn’t respond, he plucked him up under one arm with the strength even a small Alpha possessed, “Alright, c’mon then, we’re blowing this popsicle stand.  Let’s go hit a diner, yeah? Get a cheeseburger and talk like real people.”

“Okay…” Tobin said finally, nodding, “Okay.”

~~~

“You have to be the worst Omega ever,” David said when they had cheeseburgers in front of them later at a diner just on the edge of the good part of town.

The blonde Omega gave him a surly look and he winked, “Don’t worry, I like it.  So yeah, tell me about yourself.”

Tobin had been given some time to calm down and let everything sink in.  The fresh air and promise of food had done wonders and now he was trying to look at it as a business deal like when he usually sold himself off.  The only difference was that David was proving to be twice as annoying as the faceless, nameless men he usually enslaved himself to.  He had a peculiar, manic energy that was hard to follow, speaking and thinking quickly and just kind of assuming that everyone else was along for the ride.

“Uh…well my name’s Tobin.  I’ve got a heat coming soon,” he lied and the dark-haired Alpha looked unimpressed.

“Yeah, no, try again.  Tell me REAL things about you.  Come on, you were ballsy enough to get engaged on stage at a charity ball.  You’re not going to chicken out on telling me the truth,” the Alpha said, popping a fry into his mouth.

Scowling, Tobin snapped, “Fine.  I’m a poor orphan from the Central ghetto, I work for drug traffickers and sometimes I wore myself out.”

It was a challenge.

David Gray just shrugged and ate another fry, “See? I like that much better.  I mean, the whoring thing’s a little ‘icky’…you’re definitely getting tested before we bond, but I’ve heard worse.”

Tobin was baffled all over again.

“As for me,” David steamrolled on, “I’m a chemist and I work in pharmaceuticals.  I make medicine, basically.  That’s one thing for when you move in.  I’ve got a lab downstairs, but it’s all coded and locked, so be careful.”

“Move in?” the blonde asked, finally taking a bite of his food.

“Well yeah.  How’m I going to be a happy house husband unless you move in, huh? If you’ve got some time before your next heat, it’ll give us time to get used to each other.  I don’t like strangers touching my stuff, so it’s best if we make you not-a-stranger ASAP,” the dark-haired Alpha explained easily.

“…How do you like kids?” Tobin ventured.

“Moving a bit fast, aren’t you?” One of David’s eyebrows kicked up in curiosity.

“It’s not that.  It’s just…I’ve got a kid brother.  I can’t go somewhere without him,” the Omega said with a heavy sigh, finally getting it all out.

“…Is he loud and annoying?” the Alpha asked with absolutely zero tact.

“He’s quiet.  He likes cartoons and sugary cereal,” Tobin said.

David smirked that damn little smirk of his and ate a massive spoonful of his milkshake, “Sounds like a kid after my own heart.  Yeah, move him in too.”

Tobin put his elbows on the table and folded his hands together, letting his forehead rest on them.  A breath of agonized relief rushed out of him so fast he could almost cry. 

When David spoke again, his voice was a little bit softer, “…You know, Benny…you might just be the most interesting thing to happen to me yet.  I can’t wait.”


	2. Chapter Two: Party People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry I left this story hanging for so long. It just keeps getting longer and more involved. Luckily, we're at the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel stage. I promise that both "Hand Beneath His Boot" and "Altera" will be completed soon...rehearsals and filming are just killing me right now. I owe all the thanks in the world to every single person who has taken the time to read this story, offer comments and give kudos. You guys are amazing.

HAND BENEATH HIS BOOT

CHAPTER TWO

Despite actually being legally engaged to a man of money, despite having been mentally preparing for every eventuality that came with it, Tobin still felt a little weird about getting a ride from him. 

When they’d both finished their food, David had insisted on getting his driver to take Tobin home for the evening.  The blonde Omega just wasn’t used to the courtesy…or to being driven anywhere.  It all felt so strange and alien to him, but in the end he’d surrendered to the Alpha’s boundless prodding with a grumble and gotten into the car.  The seats were comfortable at least and he was so tired.  All of his adrenaline was gone and he was crashing quickly.

“Well, even though our engagement will be everywhere by oh, say, tomorrow, I’ll still be expected to formally announce it,” David yammered, flipping through something on a tablet, “Are you free?”

It startled Tobin out of his half-doze and he blinked at the other man, “Uh…sure.  Why?”

“Engagement Party, of course.  You know the sort…cameras everywhere, people you only half know, lots of commotion,” David sounded terribly bored about the whole thing.

“That sounds fuckin’ awful,” Tobin blanched.

It earned him a shark-grin from David, “Yeah.  It really is.  Glad you agree.  Oh! Also, I’d like to start moving you in by tomorrow at the earliest if you’d like.  Will that give you time to gather your things?”

It was all going so fast and Tobin had to steady himself, “I guess so…”

David smiled at him, “It’ll be fine, you know.  I don’t quite know why you did what you did, but you don’t need to panic.  I’m not an asshole all the time, I promise.”

“Well, I am,” he warned, looking at his fingers knotted down in his lap while the car stopped in front of his apartment.

The smile David gave him this time was significantly warmer and reached all the way up to his eyes, “That I sincerely doubt.”

A little shaken, Tobin climbed out of the car and the Alpha leaned after him, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.  Tell your brother hi for me.”

“His name’s Tuck,” Tobin admitted, showing a bit of trust for the crazy bastard he was apparently engaged to.

“Tuck then.  Say hi to Tuck for me,” David winked and leaned back into the car.

The door closed and the car lingered for a moment more, almost as if David didn’t want to go, before pulling off and leaving Tobin there.  He felt his shoulders sag in a weird kind of relief.  He finally had a bit of privacy to collect his thoughts.  Rubbing his forehead, he went up into the apartment, climbed the stairs to his floor and unlocked the door.  Immediately, he was met with the sight of his little brother curled up asleep on the couch while some late night talk-show played.  Tobin resolved then and there to pretend like Tuck had fallen asleep there at 8 on the dot like a good boy.

He walked over after locking the door and gently laid a hand on the boy’s hair, “Tuck? T?”

His little brother’s dark brown eyes fluttered open and instantly, Tobin felt himself wrapped up in a clinging hug.  He sighed and held Tuck, lifting him up and walking back towards the bedroom.  He couldn’t blame the kid.  He’d been a little worried he wouldn’t make it back too.  He moved as carefully as possible before setting the little boy down on his own bed.  Once his brother was safe in his bed, Tobin started to change clothes and get ready for tomorrow morning.

“T, can you sleep if I make some noise?” Tobin asked, already standing in sweat pants and a t-shirt and looking for boxes.

“Why?” Tuck asked, rubbing a fist at his eye.

“I’m gonna be packing stuff tonight, kiddo.  There’s a nice man coming tomorrow to help us move somewhere better,” Tobin explained while digging out a big, old suitcase.

“We’re goin’ on a trip?” Tuck warbled from his bed in sleepy excitement.

Tobin forced himself to breathe out calmly and nodded, “Yeah, T.  We’re goin’ on a trip.  Now get some rest.”

He heard a flurry of movement as the little boy buried himself down into his blankets.  He knew the first couple of minutes would just be ‘santa sleep’ (the forced sleep that all children find themselves trying on Christmas eve before real sleep claims them), but bless Tuck for trying to follow directions.  He really prayed for his brother’s sake that everything worked out with this David Gray. 

Tobin didn’t actually think his neck was off the block yet…there was still so much that could go wrong.  If the police found them before he had his next heat and his bonding, could he still legally have a claim over Tuck? What if David got tired of waiting and broke it off to find someone more ready for him? Even worse, what if, when he went to get tested like David demanded, one of the old ‘clients’ had given him something terrible? He knew he was damaged goods, but he was doing his level best to hide that at least until the bonding was over and done with.

He couldn’t wait until he could finally stop walking this damn tightrope.

~~~

As it happened, morning came a lot sooner than Tobin was ready for.  After he’d managed to pack most of the things he could, he’d slipped out to the main room for a bowl of cereal and a little television.  He’d managed to finish his food, but after that it must have been lights out because he was jolting awake on the couch, the sound of knocking filling his ears.  He looked around blearily, not quite together yet, startled out of a dream.  God, the knocking was loud.

Shit!

He practically threw himself off the couch, catching his foot on a beer bottle and swearing loudly.  God damn Dora still getting at him from the grave.  There was another knock at the door and Tobin ran for it, realizing that he might very well be late for meeting David.  Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Of course he remembered then that he’d never actually given David his apartment number and he froze.

If it wasn’t the Alpha at the door then who could it be? If it was the Police they would have told him by now.  He stood a few feet from the door, his spine rigid. 

He didn’t know what to do.  

“Tobin? If this isn’t your apartment I’m gonna have words with that little old biddy a few floors down,” David’s voice came through.

Tobin let out a rushing sigh of relief and walked quickly to the door, unlocking it, “Sorry…sorry.  I thought you were…”

He stopped, realizing that what he was about to say was sketchy as hell.

David grinned at him, standing there in a dove gray suit with a light blue tie, looking incredibly dapper while Tobin was only wearing ratty sweats.  His hair wasn’t even combed yet for god’s sake.  He was pretty sure he still had line marks on his face from pressing his cheek into the couch all night.  Yet somehow, the Alpha still just looked amused and pleased as anything to see him.

“Sorry about just inviting myself up, but you weren’t downstairs, so I had to ask around,” the man stepped in and took a look around.

Tobin blushed in rarely-felt shame at the state of the house, “…I’d tell you it’s normally cleaner, but I’d be lyin’.”

“Hey, you think this is bad? You should see my lab.  I’ve had to ban maids going down there lest I give them a heart attack,” David smirked and patted him on the small of the back.

Tobin was surprised that the man was so ready to be self-deprecating just to make him feel better.

“So! You ready to go?” the other man pushed on.

“My brother’s not even awake yet…” Tobin said quietly.

David thought about it, stroking his neatly kept beard before clicking his fingers, “Got it.  Let’s shift your things first and then we’ll get your brother up last.  That’ll keep the kid from being too bored.”

The Omega nodded numbly and looked around the house.  He shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweats and felt his shoulders drawing up as he looked from David to the only house he’d ever known.  He was feeling strange, had been since everything had been put down on paper yesterday.  He was feeling hopeful, but he was afraid to give in to that feeling of hope as well.  His stomach kept falling and rising again in cycles, unable to figure out just what he was supposed to be feeling.

He started when he felt David’s hand drifting to rub the back of his neck, “What’s up?”

The warm Alpha hand on one of his most sensitive spots relaxed him even before he knew what was happening.  That seemed to be happening a lot lately.

“…I guess I’m just waitin’ for someone to pull the rug out from under me,” Tobin admitted.

The fingers on his neck squeezed and he sighed softly.  Not even the Johns he’d fucked had touched him there.  Why would they? The back of the neck was a place one touched to give an Omega relaxation and a feeling of safety…of affectionate pleasure.  The men he slept with were only after one thing and it damn sure wasn’t  giving him a feeling of happiness.  It felt…nice.

“Tobin.  Here’s something you should know about me.  I am an INCREDIBLY stubborn man.  If someone tells me something won’t work I will break my back to prove them wrong once I’ve decided to go for it.  I promise that you’re more likely to get tired of me before I’m tired of you,” The Alpha said with another squeeze.

“Even seeing all this?” The Omega gestured to the house littered with bottles and low-class debris.

A bit of tension crept back into Tobin.  He was daring the Alpha to say something about it.  He just couldn’t let go of his aggression.  He had a feeling he’d never be prepared to stop challenging the people around him.  Luckily for him, it only seemed to amuse the oddly ebullient Alpha.

David grinned, “I like interesting things.  To be fair, If I’m going to have a ball-and-chain the rest of my life, I’d rather it be an exciting one like you.  Keep me on my toes.”

Tobin opened his mouth to ask more, but David shushed him, “Now then, let’s start moving your things or we’ll be here all day! We’ll talk more once you’re at my house.”

The Omega grumbled a bit at the order, but at least it was a sensible one so he didn’t feel too much like a pussy for following it.  David had taken off his suit-coat and rolled up his sleeves with a smile, getting ready to throw himself in to the work equally with the Omega he was planning on taking with him.  As they worked on moving, they developed a system.  Tobin would bring the bags and boxes out of his room so if Tuck woke up it wouldn’t be to a stranger taking his things.  Once he got them out the door, David would shuffle them into the ramshackle elevator just down the hall and get them out to the car.  They didn’t even have to speak to make it work, it was just what ended up happening, smooth and efficient.  To be honest, most of the stuff going was just clothing and Tuck’s limited amount of toys.  He wouldn’t take Dora’s things because they didn’t need them save for a few sentimental items.  Everything else could just rot here for the next tenant.

The only thing that Tobin didn’t put in a box to go was the money he’d saved away under the rug beneath his bed for years.  He didn’t even bother to count how much he’d actually squirreled away.  He just added it to his payment from the weekend and hid it wrapped in some socks and crammed into his old sneakers.  It would be a fine resting place until he could find somewhere better.

When David came back up from the last trip and there were no new boxes waiting, he put his hands on his hips, “Time to get Tuck, then?”

“Yeah, um, just lemme call his school first,” Tobin said, heading for their landline phone, “He’s late.”

“Don’t send him in today.  It’s a big day.  We’ll take him back to the house and let him get used to it before giving him he old heave-ho back into the public school system,” the Alpha winked.

“…He can’t miss school,” Tobin said firmly.

“One day won’t kill his brain,” was David’s light riposte.

“Tuck doesn’t miss school.  Period.  End of story,” the other said vehemently, frowning deeply.

“Hey, easy, what are you afraid of?” the Alpha asked gently.

“Tobin?” a small, sleepy voice cut through their conversation.

Both David and Tobin turned to see Tuck standing at the end of the hallway leading back to the bedrooms, sleepily clutching a half-ruined teddy bear.  His hair was an even bigger mess than Tobin’s and he was looking from one man to the other in confusion.  He was still wearing his pajamas, clearly roused by their argument.

“Big brother, who’s that? Is that the nice man?” He pointed at David as if Tobin might not have known who he was talking about.

Immediately dropping any fight they were having, Tobin walked over and scooped his brother up into his arms.  He brought him over and let the boy cling to him like a shy monkey, figuring this was the best way for him to meet David.

“Yeah, T.  This is David.  He’s helpin’ us move,” Tobin explained.

He watched carefully as David smiled and held out a hand to Tuck, “Hi there, Tuck.  It is Tuck, right?”

“Yeah…” the boy said softly and hid his face in his brother’s chest after shaking David’s hand as quickly as possible.

“Sorry.  Strangers make him nervous,” the Omega said.

“Hey, he’s fine.  Poor kid just woke up and all his stuff’s gone and there’s a new person in his house.  I can’t blame him, honestly.  Now, if that’s everything, you guys ready to go?” David smiled, tugging his coat back on.

Tobin realized he’d been neatly finagled out of finishing the school argument.  It would have made him angry, but he had Tuck in his arms and he suddenly realized that yeah, school might be a little overwhelming today.  He couldn’t squash his worry, wouldn’t admit David had won, but he could figure out pretty easily what was best for Tuck.  Taking a deep breath, he locked the apartment as he followed David out, Tuck still in his arms.  They were headed someplace new and the rest could be sorted out later.

~~~

Moving, Tobin told himself much later that night, sitting on a big leather couch in David’s expansive den, could go fuck itself.  He’d only just gotten Tuck to bed in his new room and none of their stuff was where it should be even after a day of juggling and looking around and trying to just get it fucking done.  He didn’t know how people with actual possessions handled it.  It had to be twice as hard for them.  Tobin groaned and let his head flop back against the back of the couch, rolling his neck back and forth against the soft leather.

David sauntered in with two bottles of beer, setting one down in front of Tobin.  The Omega took it gladly, sighing and taking a long swallow.  He was aware of the Alpha watching him quietly from another couch just diagonal from him across the coffee table.  It was like heat, those eyes on him, but he didn’t acknowledge the look just yet.  He wanted to get his breath back first.

“Wouldn’t have taken you for a guy who was so big on school, you know,” David finally said, going to their debate from earlier in the day.

“Why, because I’m stupid?” Tobin snapped.

“Hardly,” David replied, refusing to get his temper up, “and I don’t think you’re stupid even though it sure is a hell of a lot easier when everyone else is convinced you are.  No, actually, I think you’re too clever for your own good.”

Tobin finally looked at him, watching him with calculating ice blue eyes that suddenly seemed a lot less sleepy and vacant.

David smiled at getting the reaction he wanted, “See? You also know when to drop an act.  You’d be a genius if you gave yourself the opportunity.”

“Not all of us have those big opportunities,” Tobin replied.

“Is that what you’re afraid of then? You’re afraid of Tuck missing out on opportunities?” David finally let his point hit home and Tobin realized he’d been played yet again.

“And you call me the genius,” he snorted, taking another swig of beer.

“Nah, I’m just manipulative as hell,” the Alpha said, “But listen, as long as Tuck’s under my roof, he’ll have opportunities, got it? Give the kid a break.”

The promise sent a weird little burst of warmth through Tobin and it struck him enough that all he could really do was nod.

“So let’s talk about us.  Hammering out all the details really sucks, but it’s gotta be done,” David said decisively and set his beer down.

“Yeah, fine,” Tobin said and did the same.

“Look, I’m not fooling myself here, Benny.  I can see pretty plainly that you want this to be a Bonding of convenience.  I’m not offended at all and I still think you’re possibly the most interesting Omega I’ve ever met, but I know better than to push too hard for things I can’t have.  To that end, I’ve got a room for you to sleep in across the hall from mine,” the Alpha explained, tracing out patterns on the glass table-top.

Tobin looked surprised so David went on, “I bet you figured you were going to be my concubine for life, didn’t you? Sell yourself into marital slavery and all that to support your brother?”

“Yeah,” Tobin didn’t see the point in dissembling.

“Figured as much, but look, I’m not into that.  Hell, keep me a little bit entertained and you’re already doing more than I’d ever hoped for from a mate.  I’m fine for us to live our own lives when you’re not in heat,” the dark-haired man shrugged.

“What about kids?” the Omega asked shrewdly.

“I can get Morning After pills if you want them, or not get them if you don’t,” David said simply.

“Oh,” Tobin said, a little dumbfounded over how utterly and completely he’d misjudged this whole venture.

“There’s only one rule,” the normally hyper Alpha said with deadly seriousness, “If you do need or want sex after we’ve bonded, you have to get it from me.  I can take a lot of things with good humour, but being cuckolded is not one.”

Tobin nodded slowly, “That’s fair.”

They were quiet for a little while, the two of them, both mulling over their beer until David pulled out a remote and turned out a large flat-screen tv on the wall.

“You like sports? There’s a boxing match on tonight,” David said, content to let that be that as far as their bonded life.

Feeling something like trust for the first time in years, Tobin said, “Yeah.  That actually sounds awesome.”

It wasn’t really much of a first date, but Tobin couldn’t remember being more relaxed in quite a long time.

~~~

A week later and Tobin continued to be exhausted and confused by his fiancé at every turn.  The other man’s energy, drive and penchant for doing the unexpected kept him guessing.  At first it made him nervous and snappish and aggressive, but all of that had been laughed off with the sort of ineffable boyish charm David exuded in waves.  Oftentimes the man would disappear for an entire day to the downstairs laboratory he kept before reappearing at three in the morning looking haggard and tired.  Still, Tobin couldn’t say he wasn’t magnanimous.  His treatment of Tuck had taught him that.

The very first day Tuck was meant to go back to school, breakfast had already been ready and David had been waiting downstairs in a suit.  Tobin had come down with Tuck to get him ready and had been surprised to see a lot of the work already done.  He saw some papers on the table and David had explained that he’d enrolled the younger boy in a better school much closer to their house so he’d be safer and happier.  He’d even taken the boy to school so the two could have some ‘bonding’ time.  When Tuck had returned that evening he’d been all smiles from nothing more than a better school and some attention.

That night when he’d sat on the couch with David and watched one of their boxing matches, he’d thanked him quietly and received only a smile in return.

There were other benefits as well.  For instance, Tobin had his own room now for the first time in years.  It was nice…the walls painted cream with a large window taking up most of the right wall.  The bed was nice and large enough for two, though he didn’t think too much on that.  It was soft and warm and all the things his old bed hadn’t been.  There was even a bathroom adjoined to the room so he didn’t have to go down the hall in his smalls if he needed a piss in the middle of the night.  He hadn’t gotten around to decorating yet, just happy with having the space.  He couldn’t even complain when Tuck still found his way into his bed most nights.

However, when he woke up this particular early morning he didn’t find Tuck there.  It was a good sign that the boy was settling into his own room, adjusting like normal little boys.  Stretching, Tobin pulled on a pair of sleep pants and padded down the hallway that led to his brother’s room and looked in. 

The room was another thing to thank David for.  It was painted dark blue  and had glowing stars painted all over the ceiling.  There were typical boyhood posters hung on the walls from spaceships to cowboys to dinosaurs (as if David couldn’t quite decide which to go with).  The carpet beneath his feet was soft, there was a toy chest in the corner and Tuck’s bed was smaller and covered with dark blue bedding.

The only problem was that Tuck wasn’t in his bed either.  Tobin frowned and started to feel his heart fluttering.  Of course he knew there was probably a reasonable explanation, but he couldn’t fight the wave of protective panic he felt.  Immediately, he turned and stalked towards David’s room, knocking and coming in.

“David, wake up.  I can’t find…” he paused when David made a shushing sound at him.

The Alpha lifted up his blanket and Tuck was there, fast asleep.  Carefully, David slipped out of bed and padded over to the door, sliding out of the room so he and Tobin could talk without waking the kid up.

“Sorry,” the Alpha said, “He was having a nightmare and you were fast asleep when I came up from the lab.  Hope I didn’t scare you too much.”

Tobin had been terrified, but he passed it off with a, “Nah.  Just…couldn’t find him.”

“Understandable,” the dark-haired Alpha replied. 

The Omega realized then that the man was just as shirtless as him…and he was a very healthy man beneath those sleek suits.  A set of well-defined abs met Tobin’s glance, the very tops of sharp-cut hip bones dipping down into the waist of his sleep pants.  There was a dark chocolate thatch of hair nestling between sculpted pectorals and a trail of it slithering down past his trousers.  Tobin had to shake himself mentally from his perusal when he realized David had been speaking.

“Tobin? I said, while I’ve got you here, we need to talk about a ‘thing’,” the man obviously repeated himself.

“A thing? Okay, what kind of thing?” the blonde Omega asked warily.

David winced, “Mother dearest found out about our engagement and is insisting on a soiree.  I can’t get out of it.  Sorry.”

“That’s okay.  I’ll be fine in the house for a night,” Tobin shrugged, figuring it wasn’t a big deal.

He started to suspect the worst when David grimaced, “That’s just it.  Your attendance is required.”

“I hate parties,” Tobin reminded him as if he’d forgotten.

“I know, but Mother hates it more when guests don’t show up for parties,” David informed him in a woeful way that said even HE didn’t want to go, “And to be perfectly honest, I’m more scared of her than I am of you.”

“When?” Tobin said in a mulish tone.

“Friday.  I promise, I’ll make it as painless as possible.  Please?” David put on the fake puppy dog eyes.

His Omega groaned, “Fine, fine. Does Tuck have to come?”

“God no.  He can stay here and spend the evening with Bianka.  I wouldn’t dream of subjecting a child to my mother,” David said, opening his door a crack and peeking in at the sleeping boy.

“Thank god,” Tobin said and then leaned on the wall just outside his bedroom, “I should go back to sleep…”

“Yeah, I’d better go back before kiddo wakes up alone.  See you in the morning, Benny,” David said as he disappeared into his own room.

“…In the morning,” Tobin said before doing the same.

~~~

They had seen each other the next morning, but only briefly.  They’d both been rushing around, Tobin getting Tuck ready for school and David getting himself ready for a board meeting.  It would be another day with Tobin home alone, but that was fine.  He was kind of learning to cook from Bianka, one of the housekeepers they were all remarkably fond of, and it was something to fill his days with (though getting used to having a housekeeper had been quite a mental hurdle for Tobin).  Sometimes he’d go to the gym in the house and keep himself fit or go for a run.  He was hardly a prisoner here.  He’d yelled a goodbye to Tuck and David at the door as they dashed off to the car before heading inside for a relaxed morning.

Bianka, a pixie-like blonde Beta of distinctly Polish descent, was already waiting for him in the kitchen.

“Mornin’,” he greeted her, picking up some breakfast dishes to clean them up.

She smiled in her knowing way, already at the oven and waiting to walk him through today’s lesson.  They’d been baking a lot lately, though most of it went to Tuck’s school to share around.  David, it seemed, could barely be bothered to eat even when he did like it.  Tobin couldn’t figure how the man kept in such good shape, but he knew if he only had the code to the downstairs lab he’d force-feed the feckless Alpha a sandwich once in awhile.  He caught Bianka’s expression and gave her a ‘look’.

“What is it, Bi?”

“You two are like a Bonded Couple already.  When are you going to start sharing a bedroom and give me pretty babies to take care of, eh?”

Bianka, unfortunately, was not as delicate or subtle as she looked.

Tobin nearly choked, “Jesus, Bi, give a guy a heart attack why don’t you?”

“Do not act scandalized.  You are only lying to yourself,” she sniffed, flipping through a cookbook.

“We are NOT sleepin’ together, nevermind the whole ‘makin’ babies’ thing,” the blonde Omega reached over to close the cookbook firmly to get her attention.

“More’s the pity,” the book snapped open again in her nimble hands, catching his fingers between the cover and the countertop.

“Fuck!” Tobin yelped and pulled back his hand quickly.

“Why are you so baby-crazy?” He snorted at her, coming to stand and look over her shoulder.

She poked him in the stomach, “Your babies will be beautiful.”

“You’ve got Tuck to take care of and I don’t feel like poppin’ out babies yet,” he grumped at her.

“Stupid, thick boys,” the Polish woman snorted and pushed him back.

“Whatever.  What are we makin’ today?” he asked and picked her up bodily by the waist, making her squeal in surprise.

She’d chased him down and hit him with a wooden spoon before finally helping him learn how to make cherry pie.

~~~

The day of the party arrived and Tobin was already miserable.  He’d spent the last few days being ferried back and forth to a tailor to have an actual suit made and he was hating every second of it.  Being poked and prodded, turned this way and that…the guy had even touched his junk at one point! Of course, David hadn’t had an ounce of pity for him and had even laughed at his reactions.  Bastard.  In the end, he’d wound up in a black suit, only this one was made of nicer fabric and fit him far better than the other one had.  He had a black skinny tie and brightly polished shoes to go with it.  At the moment, he was allowing David to straighten out the tie for him while Tuck watched from the couch.

“You both look like James Bond,” the little boy said with wide eyes.

Tobin chuckled a bit, having heard that before when suddenly he found himself grabbed by David.  Before he could protest, he found himself dipped into a backbend while the other man held him.  He made an awkward, disgruntled noise, but was unbalanced enough that he couldn’t fight the manhandling.

“That’s 007 to you, kid,” David winked and Tobin socked him in the arm while Tuck laughed.

“Yeah yeah, don’t encourage him, T,” Tobin grumped when he was finally stood back up, “Or I’ll never get through t’night.”

The little boy just giggled when David stuck his tongue out behind Tobin’s back.

Tobin knew something was going on, but he decided to ignore it, “Okay T, be good for Bi tonight.  We’ll come in and say g’night when we get home.”

They both said goodbye and got a hug before leaving the little boy in the care of Bianka.  Knowing he’d be well cared for, they could face bigger concerns.  For starters, Tobin knew next to nothing about David’s mother except that the Alpha didn’t seem terribly crazy about her.  One thing he DID know was that this was going to be some sort of high-society party and he really, really hated those.  He hated how everyone sniggered and sneered behind their hands but smiled to your face.  He was used to duplicity, yeah, but these guys were on another level.  Hell, as they were driving to the venue, David looked like he’d swallowed tacks.

Tobin sat with his hands knotted in his lap, not sure what to say.

“I apologize in advance, by the way,” the Alpha said, rummaging for something.

“Not makin’ me feel better about this,” Tobin sniped back.

Suddenly, he felt his hand taken and something cold pushed over one of his fingers.  He looked down to see that a thin gold band had been put on his ring finger and for a minute the world seemed to slow down.  David was looking down at the ring and not at him, seeming like he only wanted to examine the fit.  He wasn’t getting away with it that easily.

“What’s that?” he raised one blonde eyebrow.

David seemed pleased with how it settled, “Oh just something I forgot about for a few days.  Figured now was a good time.”

He recognized what David was doing.  He always did this (from what Tobin had seen over the past week or so).  Whenever David did something small that was more of a novelty than a wonder, he’d brag and puff up and preen…but whenever he did something that was genuinely a massive act or a game-changer, he’d downplay it like crazy.  It was always the things that meant more to him that he treated with less importance and Tobin was starting to suspect that it was a self-preservation technique.  He only knew because he’d done the same thing too many times to count.

He picked his hand up to examine the ring before nodding, “S’nice.  Where’s yours?”

The Alpha smirked with some relief and held up his own hand, showing that he was already wearing one.  Tobin and David shared a conspiratorial smile and fell into companionable silence for the rest of the ride until the sleek car they were in pulled up in front of a house that could only be called ‘palatial’.  There had been a time when the Omega thought that his Alpha’s home was impressive, but this? This was just too damn much.  It was verging on throwing good taste right out the window.  It was the kind of place so nice you’d be afraid to use the bathrooms.

Their driver pulled up to the front walk where fancy folk of all kinds were already gathering and David was careful to get out first, escorting Tobin out second. 

They didn’t get off to a good start.

For starters, Tobin didn’t touch David in any way as they walked up into the house.  He didn’t take his arm, didn’t lean on him or do any of the things a doting Omega fiancé was supposed to do in polite society.  They stood apart, still near to one another, but with no contact and neither of them tried to correct it.  The second faux pas came when Tobin didn’t greet the people who spoke to David.  Hell, he hardly even spoke.  As far as he cared, he didn’t even know these people, so why on earth should he talk to them like they were friends? David seemed amused by it, but no one else was.  Overall, it definitely could have gone better.

The inside of the house was more garish than the outside and David immediately snatched up a champagne flute from a passing waiter, downing it.

“I hate this house,” he muttered to Tobin, then automatically plastered on a thousand-watt smile as an elderly lady walked up to them.

“Hello, David darling!” she cooed, pointedly ignoring Tobin.

“Ah, Mrs. Dow-Jenkins! How lovely of you to come out this evening!” David put on a false pleased tone.

“Oh nonsense, David dear-heart.  I simply couldn’t bear to miss your Engagement Party.  Imagine! No one ever thought you’d slow down enough to bother with Mating!” she pontificated.

“Yes, well, just had to wait for the right one to catch my eye,” David answered before pulling Tobin forward a bit, “Mrs. Dow-Jenkins, this is my fiancé, Tobin Lewis.”

“Ah yes, Mr. …Lewis,” she nodded to him and then turned right back to David, “You know, dear, we had rather hoped you’d find yourself choosing Sydney.  The Grace family is SO well thought-of.”

Tobin clenched his jaw and stood there, stiff-backed.

“Mr. Grace is a lovely young man, certainly, but I’m afraid we just weren’t meant to be,” David said in a bubbly (yet firm) voice, “Besides, Mr. Lewis here has excellent credentials.  I’ll have you know he’s a very savvy businessman.”

“And who were your parents, Mr. Lewis?” the old woman asked, finally turning to him.

“…Dora Lewis,” Tobin said, looking stony, closing himself off to avoid getting truly angry.

“Who was your father?” she continued to grill.

Tobin snuck his hands into his pockets and shrugged, “I dunno.”

He could practically see the disdain lurking behind the old woman’s eyes as she promptly turned away from him.  Apparently her social obligation to him was done. 

“Well, I’m sure he’s an excellent businessman all the same,” she sniffed.

The corner of David’s eye ticked slightly and the blonde Omega could feel his anger building up.  He muttered a quick ‘excuse me’ and walked away as fast as he could.  He wouldn’t leave because David needed him there, but he needed to get away from the social climbers before he did something truly regrettable.  He couldn’t believe they’d only been there five minutes and already he wasn’t good enough for these people.  He pushed past a few of the party guests and into a relatively unused hallway, wandering until he found himself in a vast library.  It didn’t look like it was overly used.  Rubbing his head, Tobin walked over to a large armchair and settled in it, covering his eyes.

What was he getting himself into? How could he live surrounded by these people for the rest of his life? How had David managed it?

He only had a few minutes to himself all in all until the soft sound of feet over carpet hit his ears.  He tensed, preparing for more judgment.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” It was David, sounding a little worn, but trying for good humour.

Tobin looked up at him, his eyes soul-weary.

The Alpha walked over to him and knelt down, laying an arm across the chair’s armrest and putting his chin on top of it, “It’s not easy, I know.”

“I’m not used to not bein’ allowed to hit someone when they’re bein’ a dick,” Tobin informed him, getting a little smirk out of David.

“Well, you’re young.  You’ll learn new ways of being an unholy terror, I’m sure,” the bigger man said.

Tobin reached down and tweaked David’s nose hard, “And what was all that about me bein’ a businessman, huh? Is that what they’re calling working for drug traffickers now?”

“Ow! Hey! It was some creative wording on my part!” David laughed and batted his hand away.

“You’re too smart for your own damn good,” the Omega huffed.

Grinning mischievously, David reached up and grabbed the back of Tobin’s neck, giving it a firm knead.  The other unwound with a groan, sinking down into the chair and relaxing almost immediately.

“That’s cheating…” he mumbled, but David didn’t seem too concerned.

“Better though, right?” the Alpha asked, continuing to massage until Tobin looked a little less like he was going to go back to the party swinging.

“Guess so,” the Omega sighed.

“Well, will you two be wasting time here all evening or will you be re-joining the party I worked so hard to pull together for you?” came a snarky, unpleasant female voice from the door with the scent of a new alpha.

Tobin turned his head quickly to see and there was a tall woman, about David’s height, in a floor-length black gown.  She had powerful shoulders and a sturdy figure, but her face had the Omega double-taking.  She was a little like his mother in that she might have been pretty once, but where Dora had decayed from drugs and abuse, this woman had decayed from a different type of needle entirely.  Tobin wasn’t even sure a human should be able to make a face like that.  Her cheekbones were too pronounced, her eyes too defined and her lips too large.  She almost looked like an alien and her pitch black hair was curled and teased in a way that was popular now, but still unattractive.  She was a woman who had worked so hard to be young that she was old before her time.

David was on his feet in a flash, “Sorry mother, Tobin just wasn’t feeling well.”

“I’d imagine not.  These things really are overwhelming to the uninitiated,” she said. 

It was meant to sound like forgiveness, but it was just another dig in disguise.

“If your fiance wants more time to rest, then he should feel free to stay here.  As for you, young man, you know better than to snub your friends like this.  Come along,” she said imperiously and started to walk away, indicating that David should come along.

The Alpha gave his fiancé one sidelong look before following.

Out in the hallway, his mother started talking again, “I’m disappointed, David.”

“What about this time, mother?” he asked.

“You know very well what.  It’s the same thing that everyone at this party is disappointed about.  You and that…boy.  We knew it would take some doing to get you to choose a mate, but we all had our hopes on…well…someone more distinguished, surely,” she explained in an unwavering voice devoid of anything but social reason.

“So I’ve been told…and I know you’re talking about Sydney,” he sighed.

“Don’t be flip with me.  Sydney is elegant, well-mannered, has a good place in society, is healthy and is perfectly interested in you.  Everyone was actually scandalized when you pulled that stunt at the Charity Auction,” his mother sounded a little scandalized herself.

“Well pardon me, but I don’t like Sydney.  I like Tobin,” David was starting to lose his cool.

“I know you.  You don’t like Mr. Lewis, you like that he makes a statement.  You’ve always enjoyed dropping jaws too much.  I’m sure he’s very fun and for god’s sake keep him as a fling if you MUST, but do consider speaking to Sydney about more long term plans,” the woman scolded.

“Mother, enough.  I like Tobin because he’s clever and he’s got the balls to do things that need to be done.  I like that he’s not like any of the Omegas we know…I LIKE that he speaks up and isn’t afraid to square up to an Alpha if he has to.  You should show him some respect,” the man replied sharply.

“If you’re so determined to have a savage in your marriage bed…” his mother began with a tone of warning.

“Better than having a puppet on my arm,” David replied with a tone of finality.

She turned on him and sighed, “The only way we’re going to end this farce is if we see it through to its inevitable conclusion, isn’t it?”

“Yes, mother, I believe so,” David tipped his chin up to her.

“Then go get him and at least get him to socialize.  This could be the party of the season if you two don’t do everything in your power to screw it up,” his mother waved a dismissive hand in the air before walking off.

Running a hand through his hair, David went back to do just that.  He fetched David from the room after giving him another quick neck-rub (the man looked like he was ready to punch through a wall). 

The rest of the part went surprisingly smoothly after that thanks to his mother, which was the most shocking part of all.  When they’d come back out, she’d greeted both of them warmly with her best show of theatricality and had personally apologized for overwhelming Tobin without giving him an actual welcome to his own party.  Both David and Tobin knew it was a game and a stage show masterfully acted, but at least it got the others on their side.  After all, not everyone could see a consummate performer from a mile away like those two.

People were much nicer to them for the remainder of the evening.  Even if they still didn’t LIKE Tobin, per se, they were at least on board now.  Most of them acted like they’d been let in on the biggest, juiciest private joke of the year.  It suited David just fine provided it kept Tobin from feeling like he wanted to fight the world.

Tobin and David were thrilled to excuse themselves from the party after a few hours of elbow-rubbing and whatnot.  The minute they were in the car, Tobin pulled off his tie and undid his top button, glad that he didn’t have to be a novelty anymore.  The driver pulled away with them and the Omega reached down to take his ring off and hand it back to David, figuring the whole thing had been for show.  He blinked when the Alpha pushed his hand back and gently wrapped his fingers around the little gold circle.

“I’m only taking that one back once I put the real one on your finger,” David said with a tired smile.

He slid it back on Tobin’s finger and for the whole ride home, the Omega caught himself looking at it over and over again.

~~~

The rest of the week passed in a bit of a blur.  Tobin had his doctor’s appointment to get his tests done as well as any other little health-related things.  He’d gotten gifts from social well-wishers for a few days and hadn’t known what to do with them.  He’d sat and made plans for their Bonding Ceremony…which had been a bit of a nightmare because both he and David were beyond uninterested in planning yet ANOTHER party.  However, no matter how busy his days were, he still found time to sit on the couch with David at the end of the day with a beer and some television.

Tonight they were watching the news and just chatting, talking easily about sports scores and things like that when a very familiar picture flashed up on the screen.  It was Dora.  Only this time, her name was beneath it.  It looked like someone had finally come out of the gutters to squeal just like Tobin had predicted they would.  It had just taken longer than he’d thought.

David squinted curiously at the screen, “Oh, so they finally figured out who that poor woman was.”

Silence greeted him.

He looked over and noticed that Tobin had frozen, “Benny?”

The Alpha looked back to the screen in time to see the surname.  He was a very clever man and he had two and two sitting right in front of him.  He could put it together.  You didn’t even need to be clever to figure this one out…just attentive.  Now he just had to find a way to broach the subject.

“…So when you said you were an orphan, that was a recent thing…huh?”

Okay, not the most tactful approach.

It was make or break time.  Tobin had to fess up.  What mattered now was whether or not his fiancé would react well or not.

Tobin sighed and put his head in his hands, “…She overdosed somewhere while I was working.  I came home and Tuck had been home alone for days.  I panicked.  Tuck wanted to call the cops.  I kept it quiet.”

“Why?” David asked, watching the Omega.

“…Because I’m only 17 and I’m not old enough to take care of him legally, yeah? If the cops knew, they’d take him away and put him in the system.  They’d fuck him up and he’d lose all the chances I fuckin’ fought so hard for,” he replied bitterly.

“So that thing you did at the Charity Auction wasn’t all just because I dared you, was it?” the Alpha asked, trying to get all the details.

“Bein’ honest? It was my big wager.  I couldn’t lose Tuck,” Tobin said, looking up at David and looking right into his eyes.

It was the only way he knew to show how sincere he was…to show how powerfully he felt about something.  Over the past few weeks he and David had developed a sort of peculiar way of communicating just through looks like this.

“Well…” David started, looking off into the distance, thinking, “…aside from making me feel like a dirty old man, I’ve got to say I admire the cajones a move like that must have taken.”

Tobin smirked a little, “Don’t be a drama queen.  You’re only 32.”

David gifted him with a sly little smile before his face evened out again.  There was a period of silence.

At last, the Alpha broke it with, “You need to talk to the police.”

“No,” Tobin rebuffed, point-blank.

“You have to.  They need the information to close the case,” David tried for sounding reasonable, though it didn’t much look like Tobin was in any mood to be.

“I don’t owe Dora anything,” the Omega said darkly and David knew he was getting into dangerous territory.

“…You owe Tuck something.  Closure, maybe? I mean, there’s a missing kid involved in the case now.  It’s not going to go away and he doesn’t need to see headlines like that.  Talk to the police, close the case and give T some peace,” the dark haired Alpha tried a new tack.

“The cops aren’t getting anywhere near my little brother!” Tobin bristled and David knew he had to turn this around and quick.

“So, I’ll sign adoption papers.  Formal ones.  You talk to the police and I’ll get adoption papers.  After all, you’re my fiancé and he’s your brother and I’m well-off and I want him, so this is ideal, right? Less taxpayer dollars spent on re-housing him.  They can’t say no,” David asserted.

That seemed to do the trick.  The anger visibly trained out of Tobin and he looked almost confused.

“…Wait, really?” It was like Tobin really couldn’t believe it was that easy.

“Are you serious? Do you not realize I actually like the kid? I’ve already got plans to make him my science minion in a few years,” the Alpha said, raising both eyebrows in an innocent ‘see how serious I’m being’ expression.

Sighing, David let the expression drop and moved along the couch to sit next to Tobin.  Without giving him time to protest, he pulled the Omega into his lap so they were face to face, speaking through eyes as well as words.  Their noses were almost touching.  David felt like he was breaking some great taboo since this was the closest he’d ever gotten to Tobin…the most intimate he’d ever let himself be.  He had planned on not having anything like this at all, but this conversation was too serious…too honest to not put all the cards on the table.

“Tobin Lewis.  You are an angry, confused, annoying, moody prick,” David said and clamped his hands around the Omega’s waist when he tried to move away in irritation.

“You are ALSO clever, hilarious, self-sacrificing, in possession of a pair of balls that would make Hemingway weep…and you make damn good pie.”

Tobin wasn’t actively fighting him now, but he didn’t look impressed, “What’re you tryin’ to say?”

He pulled the Omega closer so they were chest to chest, “What I’m SAYING is that you’re not perfect…but that’s fine because I don’t like perfect.  Perfect is boring…it’s why I try so hard not to be.”

His joke earned him a punch in the arm, but he went on, “You’ve got to stop worrying about how this weirdly intricate little plan of yours might fall apart at any moment.  I’ve got no plans of leaving you out on your ass…you or Tuck.  Contrary to what my mother thinks, I’m not still with you out of some stupid publicity stunt.”

Playing with fire.  They were both playing with fire and they knew it.  They could both feel it burning up between them.  Maybe they’d already started scent-bonding or maybe they were just ‘right’ for each other, but they could feel the scales tipping.  This was the point of no return and all that mattered now was who was going to step over the final boundary and end the dancing they’d been doing around each other.

Tobin licked his lips and spoke in a rough whisper, “What’s it then?”

David leaned in, whispering hot against his ear, “It’s me, lying in the dark in my bed at night and wishing you were there.  It’s having the worst case of blue balls in my life because I don’t have the guts to just go across to your room and show you how much I want you.  It’s me wanting to give you the codes to my lab.”

He leaned in a little closer, letting his lips brush the lobe of Tobin’s ear, “It’s me waiting anxiously for your heat because I think it’s the only time I’ll get you…and me wishing there was any way you would have my kids…because if I ever had kids I’d want them to be like you.”

The scales tipped so hard they fell over and neither of them really knew who initiated that first, passionate kiss, but suddenly their mouths were together and they were tangling together right there on the leather of the couch.  Perhaps they had only known each other for three weeks, but something just ‘clicked’…something that made this different than any sexual encounter Tobin had ever had before.  It wasn’t filthy and animal and lewd…this was two people coming together as intimately as they possibly could.  It was a sharing of self.  It was still hot and desperate, no mistake, and once it was done the floor was littered with clothes and David was seriously considering just burning the damn couch (because it would NEVER be clean again), but this one blessed time there seemed to be meaning to the whole thing.

It was like time had stopped, leaving the two of them in a pocket of time and space all their own made of nothing but heat and friction and skin.  There were sucking kisses, nips, bites and desperate, clutching fingers.  It was hard to tell where Tobin ended and David began and vice versa.  Both of them were moving on autopilot, just letting instinct drive them until the world narrowed down to two electric points of orgasm.  It was an epiphany in the form of flesh, one of those great moments that re-defined the world around it if only for a few minutes.

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter Three: Swinging Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Complete! Epilogue to follow!
> 
> Also, I don't think this will be the only story in this 'verse. What do you all think?

Dewed with sweat and understandably languorous after their passionate (if rather unexpected) tryst on the couch, Tobin and David lay in silence, mulling over events as they drifted in a post-coital haze.

Finally, giving his fiancé an affectionate slap on the hip, David sat up, “Come on then, up we go.  Don’t want to give your brother an eyeful if he wakes up, do we?”

“Don’t even joke, man,” Tobin snorted, sitting up and reaching for his abandoned trousers.

“Sorry, not sorry.  Kind of my shtick.  What would I be if I wasn’t at least funny?” the Alpha said with faux-innocent doe eyes that Tobin didn’t buy for even a second.

“Less annoying,” he shot back.

Tobin let out a muffled yell of surprise as he suddenly found David’s stubbly chin planted firmly on his shoulder while the other man adhered to his back like a limpet, “But without the fires of seething perturbation to fuel your affection for me, what will become of our love, my darling?”

The Omega rolled his eyes and pushed at David’s face, detangling himself and standing to get his shirt, “Don’t even know what that means.”

David smirked impishly, knowing full well that Tobin understood more than he claimed to and charmed all over again by his lover’s calculated aloof manner.  He had worried, in the first minutes following their fit of white-hot ardour, that sex might have changed their dynamic…might have altered the chemistry between them.  He found it soothing to realize that Tobin was too much a force of nature to change so radically.  He was still the recalcitrant, ornery and stubbornly independent Omega that had caught his eye so short a time ago.  It made him happy with his choice all over again, knowing that he’d found himself a mate who was neither slave to his designation nor to society’s view of it.

Still, there were issues to address.

Clearing his throat, David broached the matter as delicately as he could, “We still need to talk to the police, you know.”

Unfortunately, delicate for David Gray had all the force of a baseball bat.

He watched as his fiancé stood silently for a moment, running a thumb over the shirt in his hand and considering it like all the answers in the universe were hidden between the fibers.  There was a neat little pucker between his pale brows, a little dip for worry to dwell in.  David only just suppressed the urge to reach out and smooth his thumb over that vulnerable divot as if it could make all of Tobin’s worries disappear with it.  As it was, he forced himself to sit and wait quietly while the often-skittish Omega came to his own decision.

At last, Tobin let out a long breath and David did him the courtesy of not noticing how his fingers shook where they gripped his shirt, “…Alright.  Fine.  I’ll do it, but you gotta promise me that T will be okay.  That poor kid’s gotten the short end of the stick so many times I think he’s forgotten there’s another end.”

Sensing it would be safe to move and touch again, David pushed himself up off the couch and walked over to gently take the shirt from Tobin’s hands.  He tugged it over his head busily and coaxed the other into putting his arms through, too brisk to be tender, but too gentle to be brusque. 

“I’m not going to let Tuck get hurt again…or you either,” he said.

“S’not about me, is it?” Tobin rebuffed.

“Of course it is.  We’re a family.  If it’s about you or me or Tuck, then it’s about all of us.  You don’t have to accept the short end of the stick anymore either, Benny,” the Alpha informed him, “As a matter of fact, I won’t let you.”

“You tellin’ me what to do now, man?” the Omega groused without any real irritation.

“Yup.”

David reached up to squeeze gently on the sensitive bundle of nerves on the back of Tobin’s neck, his hand broad and warm and calloused, “But I don’t think you mind, just this once.”

Tobin automatically let out a happy grumble at the sensation before pushing at David’s side, “Fine, whatever.”

His mate just grinned at him again.

Tobin found he was really kind of starting to get attached to that expression.

“Alright then, I think it’s time we went to bed.  I think tomorrow’s going to be a long day and you might hate me a little by the end of it, so let’s at least face it with a full night’s rest, yes?” David prompted, running a hand through his own dark hair.

The two of them retreated to their own bedrooms for what David hoped would be one of the last times.  He didn’t even want to let Tobin go back to his separate one across the hall, but he refused to tread on his lover’s privacy while they were still in the early stages of intimacy.  Hell, he hoped he’d never trample his privacy at all (though he probably would just because it was in his nature as a person, not as an Alpha).  Besides, even though things had changed for them, they hadn’t for Tuck yet and he’d need to be eased into this next step of the relationship along with them.  David never intended or wanted to leave the boy out of a single step while their new family matured.

As he went into his own bedroom and shuffled into a pair of pajama pants, the Alpha marveled over how things had changed for him.  He’d always preferred his own space and his own freedom…a solitary creature save for the samples he kept down in his lab.  Now he suddenly found himself with a mate and a little brother who was more like a son than a sibling and he would have thought he’d rebel at the very notion of having two people indefinitely sharing his space.  Yet all he could think as he settled into bed was that he’d never been happier.  Traitorously, he even found himself hoping in his heart-of-hearts that maybe, just maybe, there might even be more someday.

Allowing himself a secret smile even alone in the darkness of his room, David turned out the light and tried to get some sleep.

~~~

The next morning was a little bit of a nightmare.

Normally when Tobin and David had to do what the latter referred to (less than affectionately) as ‘society errands’, Tuck was either at home or safe in the care of Bianka.  However, since he was a big part of what was happening today, he had to go with them and that meant explaining a few things that Tobin really hadn’t wanted to.  The Omega had tried to find reasons to stay busy a little bit longer in the kitchen bothering their housekeeper that morning until Bianka had firmly kicked him out, well-aware of his stalling tactics by now.

“Shoo!” she huffed, flicking at him with delicate fingers, “You act like a big man all the time so go out there and be a big man for your brother! Out!”

“Jesus! I’m going! I’m going!” Tobin barked back, dodging out into the main room to avoid her favourite wooden spoon.

David was already out by the nearest couch, straightening up his tie and checking over Tuck to make sure he was ready to go as well.  Tobin had already gotten dressed in a suit before going to loiter with Bianka, so there was really nothing left to do but get down to it and TALK to his little brother.  He cleared his throat as he walked into the living room and he suddenly felt two pairs of eyes on him…one expectant and one confused.

“Looking good, Benny,” David said, patting him on the shoulder and brushing past under the pretense of finding his cufflinks.

It left Tobin alone with Tuck, giving them plenty of privacy to hash things out.

“What’s going on?” Tuck asked, his chocolate eyes wide in trusting confusion.

Tobin looked at his little brother…just looked at him…and wondered what to say.  He took a deep breath and let it out in a big gusting sigh before kneeling down.  He always wanted to be eye-to-eye with his younger sibling when he was talking about important things.  People had talked down to Tobin his entire damn life and he wasn’t about to do it to Tuck. 

“We…you, me an’ David…we’re gonna go to the Police Station and tell them about Dora...about mom,” he finally said.

The truth was best when it was plain.

“But you said not to! You said not to talk to the police!” Tuck balked, looking confused.

Tobin quickly wrapped his little brother in a comforting hug, “Shh, T, I know…but we have to tell them what happened to mom.”

Tuck gave him a worried look, “But why?”

The older boy froze, realizing he didn’t know what to tell him.  Sure, he had always told Tuck the truth, but this was bigger than anything had ever been before.  This was a whole different level than the usual money and work related issues he had to talk to his brother about.  What was more was Tuck didn’t share Tobin’s loathing of the woman who’d given birth to them…she was too much of a stranger to him.  She was a woman he knew was ‘mom’ and was supposed to be important, but in the end she had just been a face he’d known almost every day.

He finally settled on, “Because, as little as she did for you and me, she at least gave birth to us, yeah? She got us here, so the least you an’ me can do is see her out right.”

He gave Tuck a very serious look indeed and the little boy blinked at him, rolling that over in his mind.  After a long moment of consideration, he nodded slowly and stuck his chin out, showing his older brother that he was ready to do what was required.  Tobin adored his little brother all over again, respected the resilience of the child he’d cared for all their lives together.  Little Tuck had grown up tough and reasonable and Tobin couldn’t be more proud of him if he tried. 

Tobin felt a little prickle on the back of his neck, twigging the sensation of being watched.  He turned his head slightly and saw David leaning in the hallway entrance, just taking them both in with pride of his own.

“Alright?” Tobin said, his voice gone nonchalant.

“Yup.  You boys ready to go?” The older man asked, walking over and reaching out for Tuck’s hand.

The little brown-haired boy reached for David with one hand while keeping the other out for Tobin to take.  His older brother didn’t even think about it, just taking his hand out of impulse before they started to make their way to the door.

David called out a quick good-bye to Bianka, “See you in a little while, Bi.  Don’t wreck up the place while we’re gone.”

They got a vague wave from one of her little pale hands before taking a collective deep, fortifying breath and heading out the door to the car.

~~~

David noticed how his fiancé immediately tensed the minute they got into the police station.  He felt a twinge of sympathy for his lover before making the decision to leave him with Tuck for the moment to go to the main desk himself.  He straightened out his arms with a shake to set the cufflinks to rights before striding up to the desk as bold-as-you-please and standing there, emotionally ostentatious as ever, waiting to be noticed.

It didn’t take very long.

The young man manning the phones behind the desk looked up, probably prepared to tell him to fill out some paperwork and sit in a line somewhere when he noticed who was standing there. 

Now David Gray was the sort of man that everyone knew by face.  Not everyone knew what he did or could quote his latest medical breakthroughs, but everyone at least knew his look and his name.  He was the sort of celebrity who, if he walked down the street, people would point after him and whisper his name without knowing the actual significance of the man.  Sure, most people knew of his antics, but very few people knew what he was actually capable of.  So, when the young constable behind the desk looked up he was hit with an immediate sensation of ‘awe’ without anything intelligible to accompany it.

“Mr. Gray, is everything alright?” he asked immediately, looking all around for whatever could have brought the famous face to the precinct.

He caught sight of Tobin over in the corner, standing there nervously and trying to look inconspicuous and his eyes immediately narrowed.

David saw where things were going quickly and jumped to stem the tide.  He’d worked hard enough to get Tobin here.  He wasn’t going to let some starry-eyed rookie scare his fiancé off doing the right thing now that they were so damn close.

He held up one hand, “Don’t misunderstand.  That’s my fiancé.  I’ve just come because we have some information regarding the Dora Lewis case.  Might I speak to the Detective handling it?”

“Detective Gonzalez is off on his lunch break at the moment, sir, but I’m sure another detective could…” the rookie behind the desk offered, but David waved him off.

“No.  I’d like to give this to the Detective handling the case directly.  It’s caused us some distress and we want the matter closed completely and soon,” he said firmly.

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, sir…” the younger man started.

“Can you tell me when he’ll be back?”

The constable hemmed and hawed for a minute before sighing and pointing at a row of gray plastic chairs all neat in a row in what looked like a reception area, “Wait there and you’ll be the first ones to know when he gets in.”

David gave the man a very serious wink, “Thank you.”

With that, he retreated back to Tobin and Tuck, the former of whom was watching him with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” the Alpha said, all innocence as usual.

“Nothin’.  Just never seen you act so serious before,” Tobin informed him, allowing himself to be shepherded over to the chairs with Tuck.

“Yeah, well, it didn’t get us a perfect solution, but at the very least we’ll have it closed up tight as soon as the detective gets back from lunch.  In the meantime, try not to have a coronary, okay?” The dark-haired Alpha looked over at his mate, practically smelling the concern wafting off of him.

“I gotta right not to like police stations,” Tobin said, hackling a bit while running his fingers through Tuck’s hair.

“Seen your fair share of them?” David asked in that curious and in-no-way-judging way of his.

“You could say that.  If I wasn’t in one I was pickin’ Dora up from one.  They’re not hell holes like I hear somea the prisons in like, Thailand, are, but it still sucks to be stuck in one.” The Omega informed him.

Noticing that Tuck was off in his own little world, watching one of the televisions mounted on the wall, David hazarded the question, “What did you get picked up for?”

“Same things as Dora…just a little different,” Tobin said, his tone and face closed off like they always did when he was at his most vulnerable.

David cocked his head, knowing if he got mushy about it now, it would either offend or upset Tobin, “And those were?”

Nothing about Tobin’s past disgusted him and he’d never been squeamish about discussing it.

“Prostitution and drug-running.  Dora got busted for prostitution and drug possession…stupid bitch never could keep her hands on drugs long enough to sell them and make some actual money,” he explained, sounding bitter.

“Language,” was all that David said.

Tobin huffed, but there was no more extreme reaction than that.  He carded his fingers through Tuck’s hair again.

“I had my first heat in prison,” Tobin eventually said.

That one was a little hard for David to stay neutral to.  It wasn’t disgust at his mate he felt now, but the first twinges of horror.  His eyes widened a bit and he turned far too sharply for it to be considered nonchalant.  His mouth was a shocked line of displeasure as his possessive Alpha instincts went over the implications of his young mate, HIS mate, going into heat around so many poorly behaved Alphas and Betas.  He suppressed a growl.

“S’how I figured out how much you assholes’ll pay for someone else’s heat,” the Omega said.

For a moment, David really wasn’t sure what to say before sniffing arrogantly, “Lord knows I paid enough for you.”

Tobin turned around like he’d been slapped only to see David grinning at him, clearly trying to get a rise to lighten the mood.  Grateful, but unwilling to show it, he slugged the Alpha on the arm and then settled in for however long they had to wait for the detective.

~~~

David jerked back to awareness an undetermined amount of time later.  Apparently he’d fallen asleep at some point during the wait.  A quick look at a clock showed that they’d been waiting for about two hours and everything was still blurry from his unintended nap.  As he looked up, he saw a man standing over him with a hand on his shoulder.  He was a larger man, rotund with thinning hair and clearly of some form of Castilian descent.  In his groggy state, David wasn’t willing to hazard a guess as to the man’s exact heritage.  He narrowed his eyes at the newcomer as if he could figure it out just by changing his eye-shape.

The man spoke in a gruff, but not unkind, rumble, “Mr. Gray? I understand you and your mate have some information for me?”

“Jesus, wake up,” Tobin said from where he was sitting with Tuck on his lap.

The Alpha rubbed his eyes with a hand and yawned, “Yeah, yeah we do.  I mean, um, Tobin does.  We wanted to speak to you directly.”

The Detective, Gonzalez, David assumed, watched them all with a benevolent patience that was clearly gifted by the angels, waiting for them to sort it out.

David turned to Tobin quickly, “Do you think you’ll be okay to talk to him while I keep Tuck out here?”

Tobin looked unsure before nodding, “Yeah.  I’ll talk to the Detective first an’ see if they even need him.  If they don’t, take him for ice cream or somethin’.”

“Got it,” David nodded and watched as Tobin pushed himself up and followed the Detective back to an interrogation room.

~~~

In the room, Tobin immediately took a spot on the side of the table with a loop built in for securing handcuffs like it was second nature.  Detective Gonzalez raised an eyebrow at the behavior, but said nothing, instead going to his own side.  He had a folder tucked under his arm which he laid out on the table between them.  It was filled with photos and case details.  There was a fresh sheet of paper there for witness statements.  He pulled out a pen, letting the tip hover over the sheet.

“Can I have your name, son?” Gonzalez asked.

“Lewis.  Tobin Lewis,” Tobin said, looking down at the paper instead of the Detective.

He watched out of his peripheral vision as the man looked up sharply, “Son – “

“Not your son,” Tobin said coldly.

“Alright.  Tobin, then.  Is it safe to assume that you have some relation to the victim?”

“She was my mom,” replied the Omega, his face stony.

“Ah, I’m sorry…” the Detective tried to start.

“Don’t be.  She did it to herself,” Tobin finally raised his icy eyes to the other man, showing him how sincere he was about that.

The two stared each other down for a moment and there was an understanding achieved in those few seconds.  Detective Gonzalez nodded, realizing this wasn’t someone he’d pussy-foot around and coddle and Tobin understood that the Detective would show him a level of respect.

“Alright then, Mr. Lewis.  Can you tell me what happened to your mother? Also, can you tell me if that little boy with Mr. Gray is your little brother?”

“I can’t tell you exactly what happened to Dora, but I can fill in some blanks…and yeah, that kid’s Tuck Lewis.”

Detective Gonzalez scribbled some things down on the paper and nodded, “Okay then.  Fill in what blanks you can.  What happened the day your mother died?”

“I was gone the day it happened.  Dora was supposed to be home takin’ care of Tuck.  We were completely out of money and I had a client to earn some scratch.  He had me for most of the weekend….”

“Forgive me for stopping you, Mr. Lewis, but I need to be clear.  Are you or are you not referring to prostitution?”

“I am,” Tobin said, eyes narrowed.

“I’m not going to make an arrest, Tobin, so calm down.  I just need everything very clear for records.  So, what happened after you left your client?” The Spanish man asked, glossing over the moment of nastiness with a professionalism that Tobin appreciated.

“Right.  Well.  I went home, yeah? I was expectin’ Dora to be passed out on the couch like always.  She did loads of drugs, see? Drugs and booze.  She was really big into heroine, mostly.  She wasn’t there when I got home, though, and Tuck was hidin’.  At first I thought maybe Dora’d had a John around who got rough…Tuck knows he’s supposed to go to our room and lock the door when that happens…but she wasn’t there and T looked like he’d been cryin’.  I asked him what happened and he said he’d seen our mom’s face on the news and that they’d said she was dead.  This was before you knew who she was.”

Tobin told his story to the wood grain on the table, to the whorls of his fingerprints and to the small, neat print of the police report.  He didn’t look up.  He didn’t want to see sympathy.  He liked Detective Gonzalez so far and didn’t want to deal with the disappointment when he was like everyone else.  He watched as the man scribbled down a few more notes before leaning back.

“Alright, now I need to ask you some questions about your home life to get an accurate picture of Dora for our files.”

“Fire away,” Tobin said, drumming his fingertips on the table.

“How old are you and how old is Tuck?”

“I’m 17 and T’s 7.”

“Alright…and how long had you known Dora was using illicit substances and selling herself?”

“Since I was old enough to know what that shit was.  She’d been doing it since before I was born, though.  My dad was one of her Johns.  She wasn’t much of a mom, so she never exactly sat down and gave me an accurate timeline, you know?” he sucked his teeth at her memory.

Detective Gonzalez nodded and looked up as a younger officer brought in another file, setting it down.  The Spanish man flicked it open as the officer left and Tobin could see his own police record staring up at him.

“No arrests, huh?” he said bitterly.

“Still no arrests, Tobin.  I’m only getting an accurate look at your home life.  We need everything filled in so that Dora’s file can be laid to rest and never mentioned again.  Now then…it says you were first pulled in on drug-running charges when you were 12?”

Tobin sighed and figured if he was in for a penny he might as well be in for a pound, “Yeah.  Li’l T was just two and Dora didn’t have a job.  We were starvin’, yeah? Some guys offered to pay me a load of money if I did some running for them.  So I did.  I did it a lot.  Sometimes I got caught for it, sometimes I didn’t.  It paid and it kept T from starving.”

“You didn’t ever think to call social services?” the Detective asked.

“Shit no, man.  They would have taken me and Tuck and put us in a system to get lost forever.  None of the posh assholes you shuffle kids like us to understand what it was like,” he frowned darkly.

“I can’t help but wonder if it might not have been better for you both.  Tobin, you were arrested for prostitution at age 16…” the man tried to offer in a reasonable tone.

“And I’ve been doin’ it ever since! But that ain’t me anymore. It ain’t! I’m getting’ it all on track now Dora’s gone.  I’ve got a fiancé and I’m gonna get Bonded and settle down in a good home and have nice little normal kids like all you bastards think I should.  David’s adoptin’ Tuck and everything’s finally working out…” He was finally looking the Detective in the eye, on the verge of a freak-out.

Detective Gonzalez put his hands up and met Tobin’s eyes, “Forgive me.  I stepped over a line.  You’re right.”

Tobin blinked, taken aback.  Nobody in law enforcement had ever apologized for upsetting him before or pushing him to the edge.  Nobody had ever taken the blame for it.

Gonzalez saw his confusion and gave him that patient expression again, “I was commenting outside the boundaries of this case and that was unprofessional of me.  Clearly, despite what you’ve done to survive, you’ve done it with your brother in mind and yes, you are on the right track now.  I’ll refrain from trying to editorialize again.”

The former street thug watched him with wide eyes, settling down inside.  He felt a little mystified.

“If you and Mr. Gray need any help pushing through adoption paperwork, I’ll be happy to offer a recommendation.  Now then, just for a final statement, why did you neglect to inform the police about Dora Lewis’s identity?”

“I was underage and officially an orphan and so was T.  I knew they’d separate us, so I didn’t tell anybody,” Tobin said, shrugging.

“Well, I’m sure my superiors will be happy just to have the case finalized and put on the shelf.  If I can get you and your fiancé to sign some paperwork, I’ll be able to release Dora’s body to you so you can lay her to rest in the manner you deem fit.  Once that’s done and arrangements are made, you’re free to go…and congratulations on your upcoming bonding, Mr. Lewis,” Detective Gonzalez said, standing.

Tobin watched the man go to fetch the paperwork and his fiancé and little brother.

He couldn’t help but feel that the sword of Damocles that had been hanging over them all was withdrawing.

~~~

Making the arrangements when all was said and done was exhausting.  There had been tons of paperwork over settling Dora’s estate (of which she had none), of settling Dora’s debts (of which she had many), of laying her to rest (cremation) and of what was to be done with the apartment still leased in her name.  Tobin and David both felt exhausted when it was over and they were back in the car, Tuck asleep in Tobin’s lap while the Alpha drove.

David noticed that his fiancé had been very quiet since the station and he reached over for his hand, feeling his wedding band, “You alright, Benny?”

The Omega looked at him, shrugging one shoulder, “Just kinda weird to think that it’s over.”

“Must be pretty big to finalize everything with Dora,” David agreed (he’d learned better than to call her Tobin’s mom by now).

“Nah…more than that.  Everything from before is over.  I’m never gonna whore myself out to strange men again…or sneak heroine around…I’m actually gonna have a normal life…” he muttered.

He sounded overwhelmed.

David came to the rescue, “Now don’t say that.  You’re living with me.  Normal is something you’ll never have.”

Tobin gave him a lopsided smirk and David continued, “Sure I’m not gonna have the mafia tearing my door down for stealing their prize asset or anything?”

“No.  I was good at what I did, but just convenient.  They’ll get a new one soon.  Probably already do.  Kids like me and T…we’re a dime a dozen,” the Omega replied.

David’s hand tightened on his again, “That’s because people these days don’t understand the value of things.”

The blonde Omega looked over at his fiancé, the threat of emotion hanging around his eyes. 

“Don’t look so enamoured with me yet, darling.  We still have to discuss the Bonding Ceremony…and you thought our Engagement Party was a nightmare? Just you wait.”

Tobin groaned and put his forehead down on the crown of his little brother’s hair.

~~~

Getting some private time with Tobin had been the first thing on David’s list once they got home.  By the time they got there, Tuck had woken up and it was the work of a moment to recruit the ever-ready and scheming Bianka to take him out for ice cream.  They were out the door in moments with the promise of a treat and a trip to the park, giving David plenty of time to hash out details of their upcoming nuptials with his bonded-to-be.  It would be best if they went ahead and got an idea of things now, because sooner or later David’s mother would have to be pulled into the process and it wouldn’t do to give her complete control.

As was their favourite way to discuss heavy topics, both of the men were settled on a couch with a beer and sports on the television.

“So how do Bonding Ceremonies work, even?” Tobin asked, watching a little man on the screen rush wildly for a goal.

“Well, you and I both meet in a Temple, let some big guy say some big important words that nobody really listens to but thinks are very crucial.  Then, I say some big important words that nobody listens to, then you say some big important words that nobody listens to.  After that I give you some wine from a ceremonial cup-thingy, then you give me wine from the ceremonial cup-thingy and the big guy talks again.  After that, I give you a Bonding Ring and you give me a Bonding Ring and they tie our hands together with a red ribbon because….reasons.  Then the big guy talks again and then we kiss and there’s a party thing,” David said almost without taking a breath.

“Sounds shitty except for the wine,” Tobin informed him.

“Oh no, the wine is shitty too.  See, it’s proper etiquette to lace the wine with hormone supplements to send the Alpha into Rut and the Omega into Heat so they can shag like rabbits and start having little babies from the get-go,” David elaborated.

“Ugh, that’s…that’s just…”

“Draconian? Yes.” David supplied.

Tobin spluttered, “Well, what about Beta Bondings?”

“It’s an archaic system, Benny.  They modify it for Betas, but really in society Alphas are only supposed to Bond with Omegas.  Best breeding and all that.  It’s a silly unspoken rule in the upper echelon,” the Alpha said.

His Omega looked troubled, so he continued, “However, most posh couples cheat with the wine.  They just put it to their lips and don’t drink any.  All smoke and mirrors.”

“Can’t they just not put stuff in the wine?” Tobin asked, leaning forward in his seat as the game intensified.

“Nah.  The doping of the wine is an observed ceremonial moment.  However, some couples cheat by putting little party drugs in the wine instead…mood enhancers or things like that.  There’s all sorts of ways the cream of the crop cheat on traditions that only they insist on keeping,” David explained.

“Idiots,” Tobin added.

“Agreed,” his mate said, reaching out to clink their beer bottles together.

“Okay, so, it sounds like we don’t gotta think too hard about the ceremony.  What about the party?” the blonde Omega asked, turning away from the screen after the player made a tie-breaking goal.

“I figure my mother will have the most say so with that.  She’s a very insistent woman.  However, it’s up to you and me to decide what we want to wear and who we’re going to invite.  I definitely know that I want Tuck to be the Ring Bearer...” David rambled.

“What about Bi?” Tobin asked.

“She’s definitely invited.  She’s totally invited.  Between you and her, this party should be interesting at least,” The Alpha said.

“Nah man, I mean, I think she should be part of the ceremony.

The Alpha leaned back, honestly considering that, and took a long pull of his beer.  Tobin could see him calculating and pondering over possibilities.  He could see the light go on behind those dark eyes.  He could see that brilliant brain churning over all the possibilities and all the endless mischief this simple act could cause.  He could also see David trying to figure out how to get the most effect out of the stunt.  It wasn’t a question of whether or not Bianka would be part of their ceremony.  It was a question of how entertaining David would make it.

Finally, with the speed of a lightbulb flickering on, David straightened up, “Yes.  You’re brilliant.  I’m brilliant.  We’re brilliant.”

Tobin stayed quiet, watching him expectantly.

“We’ll ask her to do the Binding,” David blurted.

Both of his mate’s pale eyebrows raised, “Isn’t the priest supposed to do that bit?”

“No, no, the Ribbon Binding! Traditionally, it’s done by someone that both families know and welcome.  I mean, yes, usually it’s a parent who does it, but Bianka’s perfect!” David was grinning like a loon again and Tobin knew what that probably meant.

“Your mom’s totally expecting to be the one doing it, isn’t she?”

“…Yup.”

“And when we replace her with our housekeeper, it’s really gonna piss her off, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

The two men regarded each other in silence for a minute before Tobin nodded sharply, deciding the matter.

"I'll tell Bi tonight," he said and went quiet again until something occured to him, "What if she says no, though?"

  
"Please.  A chance to make sure you can't ever leave me AND offend my mother all in one fell swoop? Bianka wouldn't dream of turning that down." David made a dismissive tutting sound, waving his hand.  
  
"Bianka hates your mom too, huh?" Tobin asked  
  
"You'll figure out that people hating my mother is actually par for the course...and she's not exactly accomodating of the feelings of 'the help'.  Hell, she's not accomodating of anyone's feelings."  
  
"I don't understand that," Tobin responded.  
  
"What? That my social climbing mother is a harpy who devours all happiness and joy like the event horizon of a black hole?" Quipped his fiance.  
  
The Omega rolled his eyes, "No, that she even has beef with you.  I mean, shit, you're like some kinda super-doctor or whatever and isn't that like a rich parent's dream? To have a super successful kid who's a doctor?"  
  
"One, not a doctor and two, I kind of lost all of my successful-son points by being an absolute embarassment in public," David shrugged.  
  
"You're not a doctor?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Tobin's brow furrowed, "Well then, what are you?"  
  
"I keep forgetting that you don't know everything about me like the rest of the clinging public," David said with a bit of wonder in his tone.  
  
"Yeah, and you've never showed me that mysterious lab of yours where you disappear to for hours.  So? What do you do?" the blonde street-Omega pressed.  
  
"Nothing big.  Sort of a Virologist with a side of cutting edge Pharmeceutical design...you know, the usual," the dark-haired Alpha replied, picking absently at his beer label.  
  
"So...what then?"  
  
"If you want the really basic version of events, then I make things that make people better," his fiance said with another shrug of his shoulders.  
  
An awful lot of shrugging was playing out tonight.  
  
"Well, why does your mom not appreciate that? I mean, you're supposed to be hot shit aren't you?" Tobin asked, shifting so he was closer to David.  
  
"Sometimes the most valiant efforts of god and man are worthless when your mother has a completely different agenda," the Alpha snorted.  
  
Tobin had a moment of extreme empathy as he saw the look of frustration flitting behind David's veiled eyes.  He knew what it was like to bust your ass with the best intentions and get nothing in return.  He'd felt the pang every day of his youth when he'd drag his sorry ass home after a full day of busting it to earn a bit of bread for his struggling family only to get nothing but lip from his mother.  He remembered how, in the beginning, there'd been a little corner of his heart that had wanted some recognition in the beginning...only to eventually harden into unremitting bitterness.  He remembered eventually having to abandon anything he felt for his mother...remembered having to just start doing things for the sake of it and for his own peace of mind...for Tuck.  He looked into David's eyes and saw the same weary, hooded heartsickness he was personally all too familiar with.  
  
Suddenly, David was standing up and reaching out to squeeze Tobin's hand, "Speaking of which, I need to finish some lab testing before my deadline at the end of the week.  Tell Bi what we've decided when she gets back with Tuck, will you?"  
  
Without thinking, Tobin squeezed back and said, "Yeah."  
  
He didn't notice the little smile of pleasure David had on his face before disappearing down into his lab.  
~~~~

The air in the house was light and merry when Bi returned with Tuck.  Tobin was standing in the kitchen, working on a bread recipe that the housekeeper had taught him a few weeks ago.  It had proven popular with David and he hadn's seen the stupid man eat yet today, so he was going to extreme measures.  Hearing the door open and the happy chattering, the former street thug leaned out around the dividing wall and blinked when his little brother was soaked to the bone.  
  
"What the hell happened?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Language," Bianka , started only to be interrupted by Tuck.  
  
"We fed the ducks!" the little boy cried exuberantly.  
  
"T, you know you're supposed to feed the ducks from the edge of the pond, right?" Tobin sighed, starting to walk to the linen cupboard down the hall to get a towel.  
  
Bianka puffed a bit of blonde hair out of her face and explained, "Tuck didn't seem to be paying attention while he fed the kaczki and a big dog pushed him in."  
  
Well used to his friend slipping in to Polish on occasion, Tobin didn't miss a beat.  He retrieved a towel and walked back over to them, immediately dropping the fluffy fabric over his little brother's head so the boy looked like a particularly cuddly ghost.  Tuck giggled from underneath the covering, Bianka quickly striding over to ruffle his hair with it.  She looked up to Tobin to carry on a conversation with him from over the little boy's head.  She noticed the look in the older boy's eyes that usually preceded a deep question.   
  
"There is something important you wish to ask me," she said bluntly.  
  
Tobin grumbled, "If I weren't so used to you doing that, it'd be creepy, man."  
  
"Not a man.  Now then, what question do you wish to ask me?" Bianka sniffed, immediately placing her hands over Tuck's ears beneath the towel in case it was sensitive information.  
  
"Ah...well, Bi...me'n David, yeah?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"We...we wanted t'know if you'd bind us at the big ceremony thing we've gotta do..."  
  
He didn't manage to say anything else as he suddenly found himself with a teary-eyed Polish woman wrapped around his neck.  For being a pixie-sized little woman, she had the grip of a bear.  Her overly-enthusiastic embrace was so sudden and strong it almost frightened the instinctive fight-or-flight part of Tobin's brain.  Only the bright scent of Bianka's perfume kept him grounded and he was grateful for it.  She didnt' even seem able to speak.  
  
Searching for the proper response, he tried at humour (since it always seemed to work for David), "I'm gonna guess that it's a 'yes'?"  
  
She nodded against his chest and Tobin relaxed inside.  He was so used to always being wrong.  He'd forgotten how nice it could feel to finally do something right for a change.  Feeling a great warmth in his chest (one that he was slowly getting used to), Tobin slowly wrapped his arms around her as well.  He started a little when he felt something attach to his leg as well, looking down only moments later to realize that it was, in fact, his damp little brother.  He looked up at Tobin with a soft, watery expression.  
  
"Is she okay?" he asked softly.  
  
Carefully, Tobin leaned down to pick him up, holding two of the most important people in his life at once, "They're happy tears, T."  
  
"People cry when they're happy?" he looked so confused.  
  
Bianka slowly peeled away from Tobin and reached out to touch Tuck's face, "People cry for many reasons, dear little boy.  I am simply...overwhelmed."  
  
Tuck nodded, "Okay..."  
  
When she noticed how unsure her little surrogate son was, Bi just wiped at her eyes and smiled, "You will understand some day.  I promise.  For now, let's get you in a bath so you'll be ready for dinner, yes?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Come along then," Bi counseled and the little boy dashed away.  
  
When it was just the two of them, Tobin and Bianka, once more, she leaned into him and said, "It would be a great honour to bind you in the ceremony."  
  
"Good to hear, Bi.  Once David's outta the lab, we'll talk more about it," Tobin explained.  
  
"Very well.  For now, you should finish that bread dough before it sits in the open air too long," the little Polish woman said as she walked back towards the bathroom.  
  
"How did you...?" Tobin asked quickly even though he already suspected.  
  
Grinning like an imp, Bianka tapped the edge of her delicate nose and disappeared to work.  
  
Tobin just shook his head and snorted in mirth.  
~~~

  
If only talking to Mrs. Gray had been anywhere near as easy.  
  
She arrived at the house a week after Tobin and David's day at the police station.  They were both sitting around the central coffee table in the main room, the television on but turned down low.  Tuck was away at school for the day and the new couple was trying to muddle through some of the adoption paperwork they'd had delivered to them by the detective handling the Lewis case.  With all the things going their way lately, the two men should have really anticipated a rough patch somewhere in their immediate path.  
  
Both of them had suspected (though prayed against) that the rough patch would take the form of David's overbearing mother.  
  
While the two of them sat, talking over beers and trying to work out the mass of paper in front of them, there was a knock at the door.  It was an unpleasantly sharp knock...the kind designed to tell you that you were going to let them in rather than politely asking for access.  It was the kind of knock that woke up babies and frightened small animals and David winced when he heard it, infinitely glad that he had neither at the moment.  He noticed Tobin instantly went on alert, his head turning sharply towards the door.  He watched it tensely, like a particularly high-strung guard dog...like he sensed danger.  
  
If it was who David suspected it might be, it may very well be dangerous.  
  
Standing, the inventor walked over to the door and answered it, muscles tightening automatically in a fear response when he saw that it was, in fact, his mother.  
  
He forced a smile, "Mother.  Hello.  What brings you here?"  
  
"Many things, David, all disappointing," she said loftily, looking around and seeing the mess of paper and beer, "...It seems that I'm interrupting."  
  
"Yes! Yes, actually, and we're VERY busy so if we could pencil you in for another day...." David tried, but was swiftly cut off by a cool glare from his mother.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing.  I'm embarassed on your behalf, David.  Sitting around, unwashed and unpressed, drinking beer in this untidy rubbish-heap.  This isn't how I taught you to live," her eyes turned to Tobin accusingly as if it were his fault her son had failed her expectations.  
  
Tobin stared right back at her, unwilling to play the part of the shy Omega in his own home.  This was his safe house now.  It was his territory and he wasn't going to play poor and pitiful on his home turf.  David's mother had stepped into his world and he wasn't going to be made to feel small within his own boundaries.  If she wanted this junkyard dog to roll over and show his belly, she was going to have to fight him.  Electricity sparked, hot and sharp, in the air between the two combatants before David smoothly stepped between them, severing the connection.  He didn't see his fiance bristling behind him.  
  
"Mother," David began, "I know you're very used to having things all neat and tidy and your way, but this is my house..."  
  
"Wrong," Tobin snapped from behind him, standing up.  
  
The Omega walked forward, stepping in front of his fiance so that he stood only a few bare inches away from the Alpha's mother.  She looked shocked at his forward behaviour, clearly not used to being challenged by an Omega.  It served the double purpose of keeping her pinned in place and silent for once.  
  
"This is our house.  This is OUR house an' we like it this way.  We LIKE the beer and the sports on the TV.  We LIKE taking care of things ourselves like normal people even though it's messy.  This is our house an' you don't have any right to just barge in and tell us how to run it.  You will NOT boss me, you will NOT boss my brother and you will NOT boss my mate," Tobin said, voice dark with menace as he stood nose-to-nose with the socialite.  
  
David felt an intense urge to cringe as the sparks of electricity slowly turned into a full-blown tropical storm.  He had to say, he'd never seen his mother's head turn such an interesting shade of crimson before.  
  
"Now, you see here you little tramp!" Mrs. Gray started to bark.  
  
She was cut off as Tobin used all of his height to his advantage and LOOMED over her, "You.  Do not.  Raise your voice.  At me."  
  
"...or what?" she tried for a little bit of bluster, though it was rapidly fading.  
  
Tobin's icy blue eyes were downright baltic with violence and he just pointed at the couch, "You.  Sit."  
  
As she did so, looking vaguely terrorized, Tobin pointed at David (though his voice was much gentler), "You too, baby."  
  
Feeling decidedly less terrorized and more inappropriately-turned-on-in-front-of-his-mother, David reclaimed his seat on the couch and gazed up at his fiance with puppy-dog eyes full of devotion.   
  
Once he had both of the Grays right where he wanbted them, Tobin continued, "Here's how it's gonna go.  We are going to have this stupid Bonding thingy our way.  That means Bianka will be the one binding us and we are throwing out that stupid date-rape tradition you people are so crazy about.  You will help with decorating and organizing if you want, but you WILL be clearing everything with us first or I will personally bounce your ass out of our ceremony and over to the east side.  We clear?"  
  
"You are trash," his mother replied, scowling.  
  
For a long moment, everything was silent and still before Tobin nodded to himself and gestured to the door, "Then we ain't got no use for you."  
  
Practically snarling with rage, Mrs. Gray turned to her son, "Are you going to let him do this, David? This is outrageous!"  
  
Her son was flush with pleasure as he watched his fiance and all he could do was grin, "...You heard the man, mother.  If you change your mind about things, come and see us again."  
  
The bitter socialite just stared at the two men, tension creeping up over them all like floodwater.  
  
Then, quick as a scalded hare, Mrs. Gray stood and stormed to the door, slamming it behind her and leaving the house in a sort of peaceful state once again.  It was silent in her wake for the span of several heartbeats...  
  
...before both men burst out laughing like hyenas.  
  
They laughed until their ribs hurt, falling all over the couches and feeling their eyes tear up in mirth.  Between guffaws, Tobin felt a weight settle on his chest...and another one settle down near his crotch.  He realized what he was feeling and he grinned up at his mate, finding David's bearded face smirking right back down at him.  
  
"Guess you liked that, huh?" Tobin asked, feeling smug.  
  
"What can I say? I've got issues," his mate informed him.  
  
"What am I gonna do with you, man?" the Omega reached up to run his fingers through David's sideburns.  
  
His Alpha mate leaned down to whisper in his ear, "Actually...I was wondering if you'd be at all amenable to reversing our heretofor established positions in the bedroom..."  
  
When Tobin could only stare at him in stunned silence, David's grin grew, "What? Don't understand that either? Should I break it down for you?"  
  
The Alpha let out a 'whuf!' of surprise as he was suddenly flipped off the couch, landing safe on his back on the plush carpeted floor, his mate on top of him.   
  
"Nah...I think I can figure this one out."  
  
Oh well.  
  
They'd make it to a bed someday.


	4. Chapter Four: Epilogue

Hand Beneath his Boot  
Chapter Four: Epilogue

As David sat waiting alone in a doctor’s office in one of the nicer parts of the city, he had a little bit of time to stop and think over the last few months of his life.  For a man who prided himself on expecting the unexpected (and doing his best to make it happen), he had to admit that not even he could have predicted how things were set out for him.  Hell, it was practically the stuff of those awful bodice-ripper romances he’d found in Bianka’s handbag that one time when he absolutely hadn’t been snooping.  There had been gangsters (though not nearly enough gunfights to be interesting), the police, romance (of an admittedly bizarre sort) and enough family drama to keep the housewives entertained for at least a decade.

He’d have to keep that in mind if he ever sold his life story.

Of course, the month since the final confrontation with his overbearing mother had proved the most strange and wonderful by far.  It would probably be the part that no one believed.

As it had happened, switching roles with his fiancé had been the best idea David had EVER had (and he’d had a lot in his life).  He couldn’t help it, really.  There had been something intoxicating, though utterly wrong, about watching his odd Omega take on the position of the feral protector and step up to someone who, by society’s standards, was completely out of his league.  He’d not only been an Omega standing up to a ‘superior’ designation, he’d been a former proletarian standing up to the social elite.  It had spoken to that deep, primal part of his lizard brain.  Feeling the dominance rolling off of the younger man should have repelled everything that the Alpha was supposed to stand for, but all it did was draw him in like a siren song.

He’d never really been that good of an Alpha anyway.

It had been a thrill to abandon everything society had groomed him to believe about an Alpha’s place and lie down beneath his Omega for a reason other than a particularly rousing session of Cowgirl Style.  Both of them had practically been vibrating with desire and they’d rushed through prep (which had been a bit of a mistake since it was David’s first time on the bottom), but when they finally came together it was like fireworks.  It was like a thousand pop-rocks going mad beneath his skin.  It was a little humbling to feel his legs spread so wide and his body making room for another person…eye-opening and breathtaking.  Was that what Omegas felt all the time? Plundered and yielding and very, very taken care of?

Jesus, how could anyone have ever dreamed of subjugating such a giving and equally powerful designation of people?

Needless to say, that hadn’t been the last time they’d switched.

It also wasn’t the last surprise that their unnaturally shifting dynamics had in store for them.

Which explained why he was sitting alone in a waiting room at one of the best hospitals in the city (he would know.  They employed him, after all).

Too bad it wasn’t for making the waiting room a more interesting place.

He was so bored.

Still, maybe boring was good (as much as he hated it).  After Tobin’s stunning display of spine in front of his mother, she’d been very quiet when it came to the matter of their bonding ceremony.  She’d eventually eaten crow and made a tentative truce with her son and his fiancé for the sake of still being included in their ceremony.  She was convinced it would sink like a stone if she wasn’t permitted to at least have some control, so she was allowed a little.  It wasn’t as though David wanted his family totally alienated from this new part of his life, but he really, really preferred it when they behaved.  So far, his mother seemed fine with just taking their requests and desires and turning them into a reality for the service.

There had almost been another fight over the ‘drugging of the wine’ part of the ceremony, but when David stood up beside Tobin on the subject, that had been the end of that.

They were going to be making the ceremony in their own image, new and fresh and free of the old-world constraints that had coloured it for so many years.

Hell, even the adoption paperwork for Tuck had gone through clean and now there wasn’t a soul living or dead who could take him away from them.  The little boy had adjusted very well, out on Summer Vacation from school and spending the day with a few of the new friends he’d made during the short portion of the year he’d been going to the nice, new school.  Bianka was on call at the house in case he needed anything while he was on his playdate and Tobin…God knew where he was.

As for why he was at the hospital today…well…

David looked up, brown eyes wide in shock when he heard a nurse call his name, “Mr. Gray? The Doctor is ready to see you now.”

“Oh.  Oh yeah.  Yes.  Right.  I’m coming,” he stood and walked over, grunting since standing took a bit more effort than it once had a little while ago.

As he walked up to the smiling nurse, he said, “Hey, could you do me a solid? If a gangly guy with blonde hair walks in looking surly and lost, could you send him along?”

“Expecting someone, sir?” she asked, aiming for supportive and pleasant.

“…Dunno yet,” he said with the forced levity he was so good at.

Her confusion was practically palpable as he walked past her into the doctor’s office.

~~~

The Doctor waiting for David was a stern looking Beta woman with a Southern Indian look about her.  She had thick, dark brown overshadowing eyes a darker shade of brown’s than David’s.  Her shoulders were broad, but her waist was tiny, giving her the softness of femininity along with a seamless blend into the masculine.  David was sure she was the sort of woman who didn’t need a nurse to hold down an unruly patient.  She could just do it herself.

She looked up at the Alpha from beneath those thick, caterpillar brows and then looked back down at her paperwork, “Mr. David Gray, yes? I’m Doctor Gita Patel.  Now, please take a seat and tell me what symptoms you’ve been experiencing?”

David looked first at the medical bed shoved up against the wall before deciding to grab the somewhat more comfortable looking chair sitting next to it.  He walked over and grabbed the chair, pulling it so he was face to face with Dr. Patel while he talked.  It took a little longer than he would have liked to maneuver the stupid thing, but luckily the doctor was patient and just watched him with a blank, receptive expression.

He only started speaking once he was sitting comfortably, “Okay, so, symptoms.”

“Yes.  That would be helpful in assessing your condition, Mr. Gray,” Dr. Patel told him, voice as dry as the Sahara.

“Right, well um….you see, I’ve been feeling sick,” he hemmed.

“Yes, I assumed that’s why you’re here.  That’s why most people come to the hospital,” she informed him.

Puffing a bit, he finally said, “Nausea, actually.  I’ve been having a lot of it.  All the time and just randomly.  I’ve been eating lately.”

“Eating what?” she asked, scribbling down notes.

“Just, eating.  I don’t eat much.  Didn’t.  Didn’t eat much.  Stresses my mate out, but lately I’ve been hungry.  A lot,” he scratched behind one ear while he thought about what else, “I’ve also been really tired and dizzy.  I mean, after I passed out in my lab I decided it was time to seek medical attention that wasn’t my own.”

A few minutes in to his little speech, Dr. Patel’s pen stopped scratching.  She went still and stared quizzically down at her paperwork, lips thinned in thought. 

“Mr. Gray, have you been experiencing tenderness of the chest?” she asked.

“Yeah, actually.  It’s weird,” he said, leaning back and looking at her.

“Have you been experiencing heartburn, indigestion and an increased need to urinate, Mr. Gray?”

“Yes, yes and yes,” David said, getting more suspicious by the minute.

“And your paperwork is correct where it states that your designation is, in fact, Alpha?” Dr. Patel inquired pointedly.

“Yes and could you tell me what’s going on? You’re asking questions like you already know what’s happening and I’d really appreciate being let in on my body’s latest practical joke.”

“If what I suspect is true, Mr. Gray, it is no joke,” the doctor told him seriously.

Both of them looked up in surprise when the door banged open under the indelicate touch of none other than the absent Tobin Lewis.  The Omega looked like he’d run up every flight of stairs to get there, dressed in a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt open at the neck.  He was panting a little and David made sure to give him his most unimpressed face.

“And where have you been?” He asked.

“Sorry.  Meeting with the event planners went long.  Apparently the Temple over-booked itself and they were tryin’ to shift us to a different day.  Fuckin’ nightmare, man,” the Omega said, flopping down on the arm of the chair.

The doctor watched them both with an unimpressed expression that put David’s to shame, “If I may…is this your mate, Mr. Gray?”

“More or less,” David responded.

“Very well then.  It’s good that he’s here for this.  Now then, Mr. Gray, it sounds to me like you have a textbook case of Graviditas,” Dr. Patel said primly.

Feeling a stone drop into his gut and Tobin tense at his side, David said, “…That…is not a virus I’m familiar with.”

“Pregnancy, Mr. Gray.  Based on the feedback you’ve given me, I’m certain that you’re in your first trimester of pregnancy.  I’ll want to run blood-work and get urine samples, of course….and I’ll want to run a cervical screening to see what we have to work with but…”

Tobin cut her off, “Pregnant? He can’t be.  David’s an Alpha.  Alpha’s don’t GET pregnant.”

“You are correct…in 90 percent of cases.  10 percent of Alphas, typically those on the cusp of the designation, are capable of bearing and birthing offspring,” she said and despite her stiff tone, she didn’t sound judgmental.

“Soooo…I guess wanting to get topped by a bossy Omega isn’t just a kink, huh? Some kind of biological imperative?” David asked, not at all ashamed.

“Yes.  However, if all the tests come back positive, I’m going to want to keep an eye on you.  Male Alpha pregnancies are very rare and not always easy.”

“Are they dangerous?” Tobin asked, reaching out and putting an arm around his mate protectively.

“They can be.  Because they are so rare and difficult, I can suggest termination at this early stage if you two don’t feel prepared…”

David cut her off, “Not on your life, lady.”

Then, with much less bravado, he turned to Tobin, “…this okay?”

Silence stretched between them and Tobin looked far away while he considered.  Strangely, David couldn’t read his face at all which was very unusual.  Normally he could just look at those icy blue eyes and know automatically at least a little of what was going on in the other’s head.  Today though, it was like looking into the face of the sphinx.  The hand never left his shoulder, however.

Finally, finally, Tobin looked at him again and the corners of his eyes were slightly crinkled, “T’s gonna freak out.”

And that was that and all was well.  Whatever happened, Tobin was with him on it.

~~~

 

“So how are we gonna tell your mom?” Tobin asked that night as they sat around together on the couch. 

David couldn’t have a beer now (the doctor had given him preliminary pregnancy tests and all of them had pinged positive, so he was legitimately expecting now) so he was nursing an obnoxiously sweet fruit juice.  Tuck was staying the night with his little friends which gave them plenty of time to talk about the new development.

“We have to tell her?” the Alpha said blithely.

Tobin cuffed him on the back of the head, “She’ll find out sooner or later when you start puffing up like a balloon.”

“Yeah, good thing the bonding ceremony’s next week so I won’t have time to get super round before she sees me again,” David affirmed.

“Anyway, I’d rather focus on cleanin’ out my bedroom before your weird ‘nesting’ thing kicks in before I worry about tellin’ anyone else,” Tobin said, leaning back with David in his lap.

“Cleaning out your…?” David asked.

“Man, sometimes I wonder if you even are a genius.  Yes, cleaning out my room.  Where the hell else is the baby’s room gonna be?” the Omega said with a raised eyebrow, “You’re gonna need a whole room to nest in if you start doin’ it like an Omega does.”

“Then…that means you’ll move into my room?”

“OUR room, and yeah.”

David let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding for months, feeling his whole body unwind, “Gotta admit, this isn’t the way I imagined things panning out, but this was sort of what I wanted all along.”

“You wanted me to threaten your mother and knock you up?” Tobin asked with a smirk.

“Like I said, not how I thought things would go, but the end result is pretty much the same,” David grinned back and settled in to watch the boxing match.

He let his mind wander back to all those months ago when Tobin was a grumpier, less secure young man…a minor he’d brought into his home, still feral from a life of hard living.  He remembered back to the nights he would lie awake in bed, wishing that it wasn’t so empty, especially with his new fiancé right across the hall.  He remembered wishing for a future where the two of them lived in something sort of like peace with children of their own.  What he had said was true.  He was getting all of that though not in the way he’d anticipated.

This way was better though.

This way was so much more THEM.

Now that he looked at their relationship beyond the veil of rose-tinted glasses, he could see how much something like pregnancy would stress Tobin.  He could see that his mate was nurturing, from years of raising Tuck, but ‘mothering’ wasn’t exactly the word he would use.  Of course, in the end, no matter what the two of them were, they weren’t alone and they’d always have help.  He knew that Bianka could balance out whatever dynamic the two of them made if it ever wasn’t enough. 

They’d done everything wrong-side up and totally in the wrong order, but when it came to Tobin and David, it just WORKED.

For now…just for this one quiet moment in time…everything was perfect and David was content to drift off.  The future would take care of itself.

All good things, as they say, must end.

Luckily, the Gray family was just getting started.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And THAT, my friends, is the concluding chapter of the story of how Tobin and David met. I've decided that this will be only one part of a 'verse, so maybe you guys should keep your eyes open for more from one of my favourite couples!
> 
> I want to give a huge thank-you to everyone who read, reviewed or left kudos. I see names I really respect from around the site and brand new ones, but every number is another person I hope enjoyed the ride along with me. Your enjoyment makes all of this even more rewarding for me.


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